


Kindling

by that_is_shocking



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Family Dynamics, Healing, Hybrids, M/M, Past Abuse, Winter
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-22
Updated: 2020-04-20
Packaged: 2021-02-24 21:55:10
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 32,000
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21905086
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/that_is_shocking/pseuds/that_is_shocking
Summary: Winter is cold. Colder than it was last year, and Johnny might be a little worried now. His little family that lives behind the dumpster  in the alley next to XQ Pizza and Blooming Day Flower Emporium is his world. They had survived so much, and managed to escape, but now the cold might take them from him. The winter is only going to get colder and colder, and he can't light himself on fire to keep Taeyong and baby Donghyuk warm, but there might be help out there in the swirling snow, if only he could stay awake to see it.Hybrid AU
Relationships: Lee Taeyong/Suh Youngho | Johnny
Comments: 183
Kudos: 437





	1. 1

Taeyong woke to cold ears, and warm breath against his neck. He shifted uncomfortably as he stretched a little, and then settled back into the solid warmth behind him. 

“Good morning love.” A voice whispered, and Taeyong smiled slowly, his mouth opening in a yawn. 

A puff of breath against his cheek made him shiver, and he opened his eyes. 

Johnny grinned at him, his eyes scrunching a little. His nose was pink from the cold, and his breath came out in little white curls. 

“Warm enough?” Johnny murmured, pressing a kiss against the mesh of the muzzle on his face. 

Taeyong nodded, and curled even tighter around the warm bundle pressed into his stomach. 

Johnny pecked his forehead, and yawned, his large fluffy ears laying flat against his head. 

Taeyong untangled an arm from the ratty blankets and reached up to pet the ears, making Johnny rumble appreciatively. 

“Mmm.” He hummed, pressing his head into Taeyong’s palm. 

The bundle pressed into Taeyong’s stomach huffed and shifted a little. The two cat hybrids looked down at it and both smiled softly. 

“He’s precious.” Johnny muttered, and Taeyong preened a little. 

Donghyuk was precious. Small and still a little pudgy despite the fact that he’d been skinny in  _ that place _ and how none of them had really gained weight the year they’d been on the streets. His brown ears were still big for his head, and it honestly made Taeyong’s knees weak. 

The kitten was small, only two years old, and Taeyong would die for him. He knew Johnny felt the same. 

Taeyong was snapped out of his daze by Johnny pressing a kiss to the back of his neck, right above the metal collar around his neck. Taeyong whined a little as Johnny extracted himself from the coil of blankets, mourning the loss of heat. 

Johnny stretched, and shuddered a little as the cold hit him. 

“I’ll come back when it gets dark.” He whispered to Taeyong as he wrapped the blankets around the other hybrid. 

“Please stay in the nest, I can smell the cold, it’s only going to get colder.”

Taeyong nodded, and hummed as Johnny draped another ratty blanket over him and the kitten curled into a ball. 

“Love you to the moon.” Taeyong called softly, and Johnny reached out to smooth a now gloved hand over Taeyong’s silvery ears. 

“Love you to the moon and back.” Johnny replied, and pulled a dirty beanie over Taeyong’s ears. 

“Stay safe.” Taeyong said softly, catching Johnny’s hand and threading their fingers together. 

“I will.” Johnny told him, pressing a another kiss to the back of Taeyong’s hand. “Stay warm.” 

Then, Johnny was squeezing out of the nest, stoping only to fix part of the cardboard tipi that held Taeyong and Donghyuk, before fishing his guitar case out of the dumpster itself and sauntering down the alley. 

Taeyong closed his eyes and focoused on the fading pine scent that Johnny left behind, before the ball at his stomach was wiggling a little. 

Donghyuk’s bleary eyes poked out of the blanket, still sleepy. He frowned at Taeyong and yawned. 

“Hu’ma?” He slurred, looking around. “Da?”

Taeyong cuddled him close, and kissed his soft head. 

“Dada’s coming back later little duck. Let’s go back to sleep.” 

Donghyuk huffed, and pressed his face into Taeyong’s chest, his thin brown tail curling around Taeyong’s wrist from where Taeyong’s hand was placed on his back. 

Donghyuk sniffed, and then was back asleep. 

Taeyong ran a hand up and down the little two year old’s back, his fingers catching on the collar around Donghyuk’s little neck. 

It was cold, and Taeyong frowned. This winter was getting colder and colder, much colder than the winter when they escaped. 

He curled himself around Donghyuk, and began to purr, only a little reedily due to his own collar. 

Closing his eyes, he inhaled. The cold air stung his nose, but there was nothing he could do about that. 

He’d wake up later, he just wanted to sleep a little longer. 

Johnny shuffled along with the crowd, going with the flow, and trying not to bump anyone with his guitar case. His fingers were cold, but the fingerless gloves he had taken from the park kept the rest of his hands warm. He shivered a little, the cold metal of his collar shifting on his neck. 

He was luckier than the two he left behind though. Maine Coons were very good in cold climates, and his fluffy tail hidden in his pants leg kept him warm too. The only downside to being a longhair cat was the matted fur of his tail and ears. Taeyong tried to brush it, but Johnny’s fur was thick, and tangled easily. 

But he wasn’t worried about himself. Matted fur sucked, but at least he had thick fur. Back in the nest, he had left two shorthairs, Taeyong and his maybe russian blue genes, and Donghyuk and his known havana brown genes. They were both so thin too. Johnny was thin, but he was big. Taeyong was small, and Donghyuk was tiny. 

Johnny shook his head and bumped into someone. 

He apologized profusely to the young man, and continued on his way. 

He finally found his street corner, and carefully lowered himself to the ground. 

He graoned as his butt hit cold concrete through his worn out jeans, but Johnny didn’t have time to be cold, he had to support his little family somehow. He shifted a little, wary of the tail hidden in his pants leg. 

Johnny unlatched his guitar case, and pulled the old guitar out and his little cardboard sign. His prized possession was the guitar. He was so lucky to have found it, proped up in a back alley, the neck broken and the case covered in paint and dirt. 

He had fixed it, and it played alright, enough for him to make a couple of dollars off of the people that passed him. 

Johnny set the piece of cardboard up, with it’s messily scrawled “help” and cracked his fingers.

He wished he could write more, about how he had people to support, but he didn’t write very well. He and Taeyong could both read, and they both spoke a few languages, but neither of them could write. What was the point, back in that place? They had their hands chained together for most of the day anyways, so they were never taught. 

Johnny almost wished he had been adopted by a rich old woman looking for a companion, instead of the whore house. He wouldn’t have been cold, he wouldn’t have been beaten, he would know how to write, but if he had, he wouldn’t have met Taeyong, chained up in the dog kennel next to him. He wouldn’t have hatched the plan to escape, because there’s nothing to escape from in an old house that smells like mothballs and has one too many decorative plates. 

And he wouldn’t have dragged Taeyong in terror through the little room where they kept the mothers and the babies, trying desperately to find an exit. 

He wouldn’t have had a beautiful young man press a baby into his arms and beg for him to take him. 

If he had been adopted, and had grown up living a normal hybrid life, he wouldn’t have been happy because Taeyong and Donghyuk make him happy. 

He’s happy, even if it’s cold.

He blew into his hands, and strummed the first chord. His hands settled into the familiar rhythm and Johnny exhaled. 

People passed, and Johnny played his guitar. 

  
  
  



	2. 2

Taeyong awoke when Donghyuk started wiggling. He smiled to himself, feeling his baby wriggle as he tried to extract himself from Taeyong’s grip and the blankets wrapped around the pair. 

Finally, Donghyuk huffed, pushing at the blankets with his little hands. 

He wiggled about a little more, and then a warm hand patted Taeyong’s forehead. 

“Mama.” Donghyuk whispered, poking a pudgy finger through the wire mesh of the muzzle that covered Taeyong’s mouth and looped up to clip around his tall grey ears. “Wake up.” 

Taeyong’s nose twitched, and he started to loudly fake snore. 

“No mama! Wake up!” Donghyuk whined, patting the mesh. 

A soft gust of wind rippled through the nest, and Donghyuk shivered, still patting the cold mesh on Taeyong’s face. 

Taeyong freed his arms from the blankets, and wrapped them around the kitten, pulling him close to his chest. 

The wind died down, and the nest was left a little colder, but Taeyong didn’t mind. It hadn’t gotten very cold the winter when they escaped, and Johnny had dunked them all in the river, to get away from the attack dog hybrids, and regular dogs chasing after them. 

Donghyuk whined again, and Taeyong cracked open a green eye. 

“Wake up please?” Donghyuk pouted, and Taeyong opened the other eye. They adjusted to the low light in the nest, and then met Donghyuk’s honey brown eyes. 

“Hi.” He whispered, his voice low and rumbly. 

“Hi!” Donghyuk giggled, and Taeyong let out a reedy purr. He pressed his forehead to the kittens, and then kissed Donghyuk’s fingertips when the kitten stuck them through the mesh for ‘morning kissies’. 

Taeyong released the kitten, and sat up, stretching. His back cracked as he arched it, and his mouth opened in a wide yawn. 

Donghyuk giggled again, and then yawned as well.

“Good morning duckie.” Taeyong said softly, and the kitten settled into his lap, purring as well, but just like Taeyong, the purr was blocked by the collar still fused around his neck. 

Taeyong ran his fingers through the soft brown hair, and scritched the base of Donghyuk’s still kitten big ears. 

“You too ‘ma.” Dongnhyuk purred, pretty much vibrating as Taeyong pet him. 

Taeyong ducked his head down, matted silver hair tickling the sensitive ears. 

Donghyuk didn’t pull on Taeyong’s ears as his fingers combed through the gray strands. 

“Lots ‘uh tangles.” Donghyuk announced, and Taeyong laughed. 

He swiped a thumb over Donghyuk’s cheeks. 

“Tangles, huh baby? We gotta shower soon then.” 

Donghyuk’s hair puffed up at that, his eyes getting big. 

“Nuh uh mama! It’s smooth! We don’t gotta shower!” 

Taeyong smoothed Donghyuk’s puffy hair and tail down, humming to help the baby relax. 

Dognhyuk hissed a little at Taeyong’s hands, and Taeyong wiggled his fingers playfully. 

As Donghyuk tried to catch the elusive fingers in his own hands, Taeyong sighed. He loved his baby. 

When Johnny had taken him out of that place, he had also taken Donghyuk. Taeyong was infinitely glad. 

He shook himself out of his reminiscing as Donghyuk chittered at Taeyong’s fingers, just high enough to escape the grabbing hands. 

“Hungry?” Taeyong asked, and Donghyuk’s ears and tail perked up. 

“Yes! I’m really hungry Mama!” Donghyuk announced, tail a perfect happy candy cane. “Please can we have breakfast?” 

Taeyong longed to be able to press a kiss to Donghyuk’s forehead, to pepper his face with tiny little kisses, but he settled for pressing their foreheads together. 

“Of course we can have breakfast my darling.” He murmured as Donghyuk beamed up at him. 

A can of black beans were fished out from the little area under the dumpster. Donghyuk’s ears flattened at the sight, and he pouted up at Taeyong. 

“We gotta eat beans again?” He whined, butting his head against Taeyong’s chest. 

Taeyong carefully petted his ears and sighed at the pouty little kitten. 

“We ate the last can of Spaghettios on sunday night with Dada, remember?” He prompted, reaching back under the dumpster for the can opener. 

Donghyuk huffed, and settled into a deeper pout, but his ears still pricked up when Taeyong fished out the plastic spoons as well.

“We’ll see if Dada will get us more spaghetti sauce and spaghetti O’s next time he goes to the store, alright duckling?” 

The can of beans was frozen inside, and Taeyong frowned at it. 

“It’s all icy Mama.” Donghyuk announced, poking the plastic spoon at the can. 

Taeyong shook his head, and giggled at Donghyuk. 

“It’s a popsicle! Did you know that sometimes, people make ice cream out of beans?” 

Donghyuk’s ears went back and he stuck out his tongue. 

“Ew!” He hissed, as Taeyong scraped off a spoonful of frozen black beans to feed the kitten. 

Donghyuk accepted the spoon and looked cautiously at the shaved ice texture. 

“Make sure Dada doesn’t get any of that.” He told Taeyong, and then took a bite. 

He shivered, and his tail poofed up. 

“It’s cold!” The kitten whined, and Taeyong sighed. 

He scooped Donghyuk up and settled him in his lap, so that his body heat could warm the little baby up. 

“I’m sorry love, it’s all we have right now. Think of it as a fun treat, Dada won’t have had frozen beans before, so we are much cooler than he is.” 

Donghyuk nodded slowly, and accepted another bite. 

Taeyong sighed, and shifted a little so his back was taking most of the cold coming in. 

Hopefully this cold wouldn’t last that long.

Johnny couldn’t feel his fingers anymore. The guitar strings moved underneath them, but he couldn’t follow it. Blowing warm air into his hands hadn’t worked for long, it just made his fingers hurt from the drastic temperature difference. 

Someone dropped a dollar into the guitar case, and he looked up to say thank you. The pair of young men looked away quickly, and hurried on. 

Johnny understood them a little. He didn’t want to linger around other homeless people and hybrids either. He could feel the dirt in the matted fur on his tail and ears. 

Johnny paused his playing to look down into the case. 

_ Maybe ten dollars? Maybe fifteen?  _

He reached down with shaking hands to pick up the crumpled ones and the spare change. There was a box of raisins, and a crayon. Oh and a few sticks of gum too. 

The crayon made him smile. The little boy who had dropped it in had looked at his guitar so entranced, like he was witnessing something beautiful. Johnny in his dirty old coat and scruffy beanie, wasn’t beautiful, but to the child he was. The crayon was blue, and Johnny thought about grabbing a free newspaper, so Donghyuk could color, finally with something other than broken pencils. The kitten liked to draw, and Taeyong liked to carefully draw out outlines for him to color in. 

Johnny pocketed the ones and the raisins. He studied the crayon a bit more before carefully putting it in his inner pocket, so it wouldn’t be lost easily. 

Then he eyes the sticks of gum. He could smell the peppermint from here, and his noss already itched. 

He could already feel the way his nose would burn when he decided to start chewing them, but beggars can’t be choosers, literally in this case. There were three sticks of gum. That could last him five days, and make him feel less hungry, so Taeyong and Donghyuk could have some cans of food to themselves. Donghyuk was… skinny, but not dangerously so. He just looked a little leaner than a healthy kitten should be. Taeyong and himself on the other hand… 

Johnny shook his head, and put the gum in his pockets as well. He sneezed as the peppermint wafted up from his coat. 

Someone crouched down in front of him, and Johnny startled. 

“Don’t like mint either, huh?” 

A dog hybrid grinned at him, his ears a little cocked, and a scarf hanging on his neck haphazardly. 

It looked like a golden retriever, with the soft dark blonde ears that adorned the hybrid’s head. 

Not an attack dog then, but Johnny’s warning bells still started to go off. He looked around quickly, and found that the street had cleared out substantially, no one was out after the lunch rush, it must be around 3 pm. 

“Mint makes me cough!” The hybrid informed him, seemingly not aware of Johnny’s panic. “But I like sweeter minty things. Just like my human’s friends like spicy food!” 

Johnny blinked, and was suddenly glad for the matted fur on his tail. If it wasn’t so tangled together, his pants leg would have given him right away. 

“I- I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Johnny stuttered, and the hybrid beamed at him. 

“Don’t worry kitty, you aren’t alone!” He shook his head, dispelling a few snowflakes. “I know that kitties like mint even less than dogs! You smell really good for a cat!” 

Johnny stared at him in shock, his heart pounding. 

_ Who is this?! Did they find him?! Were they here to take him away?! Taeyong- _

Someone shouted from down the street, interrupting his train of thought. 

“Jaehyunnie! Heel!” 

The hybrid in front of him turned, and his tail started to wag even more. 

“Hyung!” He called, bouncing a little in place. “I made a friend!” 

A little human in a puffy blue padded coat came to a stop in front of them, panting. 

“I looked back, and you were gone! You can’t just do that, I was worried for you!” 

The hybrid- Jaehyun- pouted. Johnny relaxed minutely. The dog handlers he had known weren’t rosy cheeked little humans with marshmallow-y coats that panted like a sprinter after running. 

“Sorry Taeil hyung!” The hybrid chirped, jumping up to circle the human, sniffing him a little. 

His tail still moved a mile a minute, and the human reached up to pat Jaehyun’s ears with a gloved hand. 

The human looked at the hybrid fondly, and then looked down at Johnny, who was still frozen to his spot. 

What had Jaehyun called him?

Oh right. 

Taeil squatted down to look Johnny in the eyes. He frowned, and reached into his pocket. 

Johnny tensed. 

_ What was he doing?! Was he going to call animal control?! Was he working for that place?! Should Johnny run- _

Taeil noticed his tense posture, and immediately drew his hand out. 

“Sorry, sorry.” He soothed, trying to make his stance less threatening. “I was reaching for my wallet.” 

Johnny nodded, and the dog hybrid bounced around them, lost in his own world. 

“Are you out here alone kitty?” Taeil asked, fishing two twenties out of the worn leather.

Johnny was already nodding, ready to lie his socks off to keep the humans away from Taeyongie and his baby. 

The human pouted at him. 

“I’m sorry it isn’t more.” He said regretfully, holding the bills out. Johnny took them gingerly, and looked back at the human. 

“Will you be here still, in say… thirty minutes?” Taeil asked, pondering something. 

Johnny swallowed and nodded. 

“That’s so great!” Jaehyun exclaimed, plopping down next to Johnny on the sidewalk, who visibly tensed again. “I want to be best of friends!” 

Taeil chuckled at the pair and stood up. 

Jaehyun carried on with his loud speech. 

“I’ve never smelt a cat so good smelling, you smell like pine trees, which could be bad of course because some air fresheners smell like pine trees and Lucas is allergic to those, he won’t be allergic to you of course, can you be allergic to a whole person? I don’t know anyways-” 

Taeil cut him off and hauled the dog hybrid up to his feet. 

“I’ll see you soon- what was your name?” 

Johnny swallowed, and looked around. 

“Youngho.” He said raspily, giving him his very much less used litter name. He was bred in Korea, so his litter name was korean, but litter names don’t count on the grand scale of things. Most adoption centers changed a hybrid’s name, or got rid of the name completely, as to make it easy for adopters to give the hybrid a name. Johnny had been at a small pet shop for about a week, where he got the name Johnny, before he was taken to  _ that place _ and given a completely different title altogether. 

He didn’t like the name they called him there. 

He was brought back to the present, by the human grinning at him, and waving. 

“See you soon then, Youngho!” 

Taeil turned, and dragged Jaehyun off, leaving Johnny on the corner. 

Johnny waited until they were out of sight, and then he counted to one hundred, before quickly packing his guitar up. 

The human hoped he was here when he came back, and Johnny hoped to be far away when that happened. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey guys! Merry Christmas! This one is for sunshine_ses1234, shadownightes and Taoinnie  
> Hope you all enjoy and I hope you all had a very good holiday season!  
> Find me on insta if you want to chat!  
> @that_is_shocking  
> Love you all!  
> -alex


	3. 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> hey guys this one's for Markjin_is_life

Jaehyun pouted as Taeil hurried down the street. 

“I liked that kitty hyung.” He whined, reaching out to grab Taeil’s hand. 

The human looked back briefly, and squeezed Jaehyun’s gloved hand. “I know honey, but we’re going back in a second, I just wanted to stop and buy him some stuff.” 

Jaehyun’s ears perked up, and he grinned at Taeil, tail wagging hard. 

“Oh! We get to buy some snacks?” He asked, bouncing a little. 

Taeil grinned, and slowed down a little so the pair could walk side by side. 

“Yeah, among other things. We’re going to get him some food, and some other stuff.” 

He frowned and looked around. 

“I swear there was a 24 hour mart around here somewhere…” He muttered, and Jaehyun raised his head and inhaled. 

“Hyung, go left.” He instructed and Taeil raised an eyebrow. 

Jaehyun grinned, tail thumping against Taeil’s side. “I can smell mediocre hot dogs!” 

Taeil sighed in relief and dragged Jaehyun left. 

The little mart they entered did indeed smell like gas station food, and Jaehyun sniffed around happily. 

Taeil already had a little basket, and was loading it up with non-perishables, before turning to the self-care section. 

Deodorant, a small brush, a razor, and a few packages of bandaids fell into the box, before he moved onto the hybrids section of the mart. 

There were cheap collars, hats with ear holes, special combs, among other things. 

Taeil considered one of the hats, but then he shook his head. Strays weren’t likely to let others know that they were hybrids, for safety reasons. 

He picked up a small package of flea medication, and Jaehyun skidded around the corner, his own basket filled with chips, and gummy candy. 

“Hyung!’ He gasped, looking scandalized. “I don’t have fleas!” 

Taeil raised an eyebrow at Jaehyun's basket, before putting the flea medication into his own basket. 

“It’s for Youngho, just in case. Don’t worry Jae, not for you.” 

Jaehyun relaxed, grinning wide. 

“I found Jeno’s favorite gummies! And a bag of chips for Lucas! I even got some mineral water for Ten-” He frowned. “Even if he’s a cat. But he’s alright I guess. I liked Youngho better.” 

Taeil sighed, and ruffled Jaehyun’s hair. 

“You better pick out a snack for everyone at the office if you’re getting things for Lucas Jeno and Ten. How about a few boxes of donuts?” 

Jaehyun nodded, and then stopped, considering something. 

“If… if I get some shrimp chips for Ten, do you think he’ll let me cuddle with him?” 

Taeil hummed, back to browsing the pain medications and injury care supplies. 

“Thought you didn’t like him?” 

Jaehyun’s ears went back, looking offended. 

“Of course I don’t like him! He’s a cat! But he gives really good ear pets.” 

Then, he bounced off, leaving Taeil alone. 

“Sir!” The cashier called, looking up from the register. “Please keep your hybrid close to you, store policy.” 

Jaehyun hurried back around the corner, tail between his legs. 

“Sorry.” He said to the cashier who shrugged and went back to whatever he was doing on his phone. 

“Don’t worry honey, we’ll pick donuts out together, right?” 

Jaehyun nodded, and then curled his lip at the toothbrush that had made it into Taeil’s basket. 

“Hyung you need to get a different toothbrush. HumaneCare one's taste bad.” 

Taeil nodded, and placed it back on the shelf. 

“You’re a good boy Jaehyun, don’t forget that.” 

Jaehyun’s tail wagged a little, and he smiled. 

“I’m the best boy!” 

Taeil laughed as Jaehyun picked out a toothbrush for the basket, and ruffled the golden retriever’s ears. 

“The bestest!” 

Now laden with their bags, they hurried back to the street corner where the cat had been last. 

Jaehyun chewed a gummy, as the pair rounded the corner. 

“Damn it!” Taeil cursed, looking at the empty space that Youngho had occupied only fifteen minutes prior. 

“That’s not a nice word.” Jaehyun reminded him, and Taeil blew a breath out through his teeth. 

The wind whirled around them, as his phone and Jaehyun’s phone chimed at the same time. 

“Weather warning hyung.” Jaehyun said through his mouthful of gummy bears. “What are we gonna do?”

“Can you smell him?” Taeil asked, spinning around, looking down the streets the corner was on. “Maybe we can track him down, and take him back to the center to stay the night out of the cold.” 

Jaehyun raised his nose, and sniffed. He stepped uncertainly down one street, and then backtracked. 

“This way?” He said, hesitating before stepping down a street, and then stopping. 

A gust of wind bracketed them, and Taeil shivered. 

Jaehyun sniffed harder, turning slowly. 

Another gust circled them, kicking up powdery snow. 

“It smells like he’s gone down every street!” Jaehyun whined, swallowing his gummies and sniffing frustratedly. 

Taeil looked around again, and then shivered. 

“Jae, let’s head back to the Center, and we can see if a few more dogs want to help us look, if we get at least three more, we can go down every street.” 

Jaehyun nodded, still sniffing the air and turning slowly. 

“I have a bad feeling now hyung.” He admitted, ears pulled back, and tail lowered. “It’s so cold, and- I don’t know. I just have a bad feeling.” 

Taeil nodded, and then patted Jaehyun’s shoulder. 

“Let’s head back quickly, and get some help together, ok?” 

Jaehyun sniffed one last time and then nodded. 

“We’re gonna come back, okay!?” He shouted into the wind, “Don’t worry kitty! I won’t leave my friends, and you’re my friend now! We’ll come back!” 

The wind blew around them again, and Taeil realized it hadn’t been so strong when they had been here only fifteen minutes earlier. A storm was blowing in. 

“We’ll be back.” He echoed Jaehyun, and then dragged the puppy along. They had to get back to the center. 

Taeyong cradled Donghyuk to his chest, and tried to curl around the kitten even more. 

They were both tucked under all the blankets, and there was a small opening for air, so that their ears weren’t out in the cold either. 

The insulation in their nest was not optimal, with holes in the cardboard and plastic that let cold air and occasionally powdery snow flakes into the little space. 

The dumpster they were tucked behind didn’t help much either, as the metal was practically ice. 

Donghyuk shivered in his sleep. Taeyong looked moved the blanket out of the way a little and looked down at the kitten. He was small, and perfect, but his cheeks were a little rosy, even tucked under the blankets and curled up next to Taeyong’s chest. 

Taeyong sighed, and ran a hand through Donghyuk’s hair, wary of tangles in the brown curls. 

He tried to start purring, to help smooth the frown from the baby’s face, but the purr spluttered. 

The collar was in his way again. It was always in the way. 

He reached up a hand to try to relieve a little of the constant pressure at his throat, but he could barely wedge a pinky between the collar and his skin on a good day, and today he couldn’t even do that. 

With nothing to stop him, he traced the strips that attach the collar to his muzzle. The trio was lucky that only one of them had come out of that place with a muzzle. Johnny was no stranger to muzzles, but Taeyong had been the one with one on the night that Johnny had grabbed him and ran. 

Taeyong’s fingers grazed over the large-holed mesh, and the ruined places where Johnny had taken a fingernail clipper and cheap wire cutters and cut a hole so Taeyong could eat. The duct tape was wearing down on the sharp bits, and he sighed. He wiggled his nose a little so the muzzle wasn’t completely sitting on the sore bridge of his nose, but as soon as it had shifted a little out of place, it moved right back to where it started. 

Taeyong then followed the clips that threaded through his silvery hair and up to encircle his ears. 

Since he didn’t have human ears, the muzzle had to clip to his cat ears, and the back of his head, so it wouldn’t come off. Taeyong hated it. 

The metal was clipped into pierced loops in his grey ears, and then it met at the back of his head, and connected back to the collar. 

His baby only had a collar, but Taeyong was worried. Every month the collar donghyuk wore got tighter and tighter as he grew. 

Eventually it would be too tight, but Taeyong didn’t want to think of that yet. 

He shook his hair out a little, and ran his hand back through Donghyuk’s hair. 

Donghyuk whimpered a little as a strong gust of wind sent icy air into the hole in the blankets. 

Taeyong grit his teeth and curled tighter around him. 

It hadn’t ever gotten this cold and windy last winter, and Taeyong was scared. Lots of things scared him, but here in his nest, those things hadn’t threatened him except in dreams. Now there was something scary pulling at the seams of his only home, and his gut told him it would only get worse as the day went on. 

“Mama you’re squeezing me.” Donghyuk whispered, and Taeyong loosened his hold. He hadn’t noticed he had squeezed the kitten tighter as he had been lost in thought. 

Donghyuk shifted a little so his face was closer to Taeyong’s face. 

“Why’s it so loud?” He asked, shivering a little as the wind howled at the end of the alleyway. It hadn’t changed direction so much that they were being battered constantly, but it could change at any second. 

“Dada used to tell me a story about the wind, I can tell it to you if you want duckling.” Taeyong said softly, cupping Donghyuk’s face and running a thumb over Donghyuk’s cheek. 

The kitten looked excited, and then frowned. 

“Why doesn’t he tell it anymore?” He asked, letting Taeyong pet his face and ears. 

Taeyong shrugged, and pressed a kiss to his index finger so he could boop the tip of Donghyuk’s nose. 

Donghyuk didn’t look pleased with this answer, so he wriggled around a little, pouting. 

“Tell it to me.” He demanded, and Taeyong sighed playfully. 

“How do you say that nicely?” He asked, tapping Donghyuk’s cheek. 

“Please~” The kitten whined, and Taeyong giggled. 

“Alright, I’ll tell you, since you asked so nicely!” 

Donghyuk looked pleased with himself, and cuddled up to Taeyong’s chest. 

“Once upon a time, there was a great big dog in the sky. You see, the sun was a cat, and the moon was a dog, and they chased each other constantly, but this other dog, had fallen in love with the sun.” 

Donghyuk began to purr, and Taeyong grinned, slowly petting the kitten’s ears. 

“But the cat could never love him back, because if the sun stopped, the moon would catch him, and cover the sun. The world would be in darkness. So when the moon slept, on the nights without the moon, the Sun Cat and the Wind Dog would meet in secret. The Wind Dog loved the Sun Cat so completely, that even though they both knew that the Cat would never really love him back, he was content to stay with his lover, even for just a moment.” 

Taeyong covered Donghyuk’s ears briefly as a spat of cold wind swirled through the nest. 

“But one day, the Wind Dog decided to distract the Sun Cat, and keep him as his lover. Surely the world wouldn’t be plunged into darkness if the Sun Cat stayed with him, because the sun was bright, and the moon was bright. Light plus Light couldn’t equal darkness, right?” 

Donghyuk nodded. “That makes sense. What happened next Mama?” 

Taeyong smoothed Donghyuk’s fur. 

“Well, one night with no moon, the Wind Dog wrapped him and the Sun Cat in a snowstorm. The Sun Cat would keep them warm, but the storm was so dark that the Sun Cat wouldn’t be able to see that daylight was appearing, and stay with the Wind Dog instead of continuing to run from the moon.” 

“A snow storm like this one Mama?” Donghyuk asked, interrupting.

Taeyong nodded, and continued. 

“It worked for a few moments, and the Wind Dog rejoiced, but then the Moon caught them, and woke the Sun Cat immediately. The pair began to fight, and much to the Wind Dog’s horror, the world began to go dark around him.” 

“Why is the sun a cat? Wouldn’t it be the moon since we can see in the dark?” Donghyuk asked, and Taeyong nodded. 

“Good question duckie, very smart, but think about how nice it is to sit in the sunshine. Shouldn’t cats be the sun, since they love it so much?” 

Donghyuk frowned, and then nodded. 

“That’s smart mama.” 

“Thank you, any more questions?” Taeyong asked, and Donghyuk shook his head and settled into Taeyong’s chest. 

“Alright, I’ll continue then.” Taeyong said softly. “The Wind Dog tried to get between the two fighting creatures, but what is wind against the sun and the moon? Eventually, the sun escaped, running away fast, and the world lightened. The moon gave chase, and the Wind Dog watched them disappear on the horizon. The next night with no moon, he waited for the Sun Cat in the place they always met.” 

Taeyong sneezed as a poof of snow accompanied the next burst of wind. Donghyuk giggled, and Taeyong tapped his nose in retaliation. 

“Keep going Momma!” 

Taeyong rolled his eyes playfully, and Donghyuk whined. 

“Finish the story please!” 

“Alright alright, I will.” He murmured, shifting Donghyuk a little so he could curl around him better. 

“Sun Cat was furious with Wind Dog. Sun Cat told him that he could never love him again, after he had tricked him like that, and Wind Dog suddenly realized his mistake. He tried to plead with Sun Cat to stay, even a little longer, but Sun Cat hissed at him, and turned away, so that his luminous eyes didn’t fall upon Wind Dog anymore. ‘I curse you.’ Sun Cat said to him, ‘You will never love another, and no one will ever lay eyes on you again.’ With that, Sun Cat left Wind Dog, running back up to the sky, and Wind Dog began to howl. He turned invisible, so no one would ever see him again, and now he roams the world, howling about his lost love.” 

Taeyong finished, and looked at Donghyuk. 

Donghyuk looked up at him, and then frowned. 

“What happened next?” He asked, pouting.

Taeyong sighed, and pet Donghyuk’s ears again. 

“That’s it love. That’s the end.” 

Donghyuk sat up, the blanket falling off of the pair. The kitten crossed his arms and stuck his bottom lip out. 

“That’s not a very nice story!” He announced, as Taeyong moved the blanket to cover the openings in the nest. 

“Sometimes things aren’t all that nice Duckling.” Taeyong murmured, scooping Donghyuk up and holding him close. “Maybe that’s why Dada doesn’t tell that story anymore.” 

Still pouting, Donghyuk nodded, and then curled up in Taeyong’s lap. 

“Tell me a better story Mama.” He said, getting comfy on Taeyong’s skinny thighs. 

Taeyong nodded, and launched into Cinderella, one of his personal favorites. 

Donghyuk’s eyes got heavier and heavier as Taeyong continued, and finished, and moved on to Princess and the Dog, which was Johnny’s favorite and also least favorite, because the Princess falls in love with the hybrid dog that finds her magic golden ball, but once she kisses him he turns back into a human. 

He was just at the part where the Princess loses the ball over the palace walls when a gust of wind brought a mouthful of Johnny’s pine scent into the nest. 

Taeyong trailed off as a warm shape pressed itself to his back. 

“Lie down with me love. Donghyuk’s asleep.” Johnny whispered, voice deep. A plastic bag shifted, and Taeyong hummed, wiggling back under the blankets with Donghyuk. 

Johnny put a few cans under the dumpster, and then draped a new blanket over Taeyong. 

Taeyong’s eyes opened wide, and he sat up. 

“Where did you get this?” He gasped, the new blanket soft against his rough fingertips. 

Johnny hummed, and pushed him down so he could join the pair under the blankets. 

“I got it at one of the little Quick Marts. It was ten dollars.” He rasped against the back of Taeyong’s neck. 

Taeyong shot back up. 

“Ten dollars?!” He hissed, looking at Johnny angrily. Johnny put a finger to his lips, reminding him of the sleeping kitten. 

“Johnny!” Taeyong hissed, a little quieter this time. “That’s too much!” 

Taeyong was pulled back down, and the blankets draped around him. 

“Someone gave me forty dollars today, and the cashier at the Quick Mart was talking to someone about an incoming storm. It’s worth it, trust me.” 

Taeyong’s ears flattened against his head, both angry and a little scared. 

“Did you-” He started hesitantly, and Johnny quickly shook his head.

“No. He had a hybrid dog with him, but it was a golden retriever, and the man was short, and he had a really colorful scarf. He didn’t make me do anything, and I left right after he did. I walked around a lot too, so they couldn’t track me at all.” 

Taeyong scrunched his nose up, just now smelling the slight scent of dog on Johnny. 

“Please relax love.” Johnny whispered, kissing the top of Taeyong’s spine. “It’s safe. I’m going to protect you.” 

Taeyong nodded slowly, and Johnny hummed. He sat up and shifted Taeyong and Donghyuk around so Donghyuk was curled between them. 

“I’ll protect you always.” He said quietly, and Taeyong finally let himself relax. 

Johnny smiled gently at him, and closed his eyes happily. 

“I brought back more spaghettios for Duckie, and I got you some canned pears.”

Taeyong nodded, mimicking Johnny’s slow blink. 

“Did you get more cans of chilli? And pasta sauce?” Taeyong asked, letting Johnny’s hand card through his hair. 

“Yeah. I know you wanted some more stuff with meat. I just thought that since I got so much today, that this could be a late christmas present, you know?” 

Taeyong felt a weak purr flutter out of his chest. 

“Love you.” He murmured, and Johnny grinned at him. 

“I also brought duckie a crayon. A cute little kid dropped it in my case today.” 

Taeyong hummed, Johnny’s hands making him sleepy. 

“Have you two stayed in here?” Johnny asked, and Taeyong nodded. 

“Stayed right where you asked us to.” He sighed, relaxing even more. 

A gust of wind bit Taeyong’s ears, and Johnny sighed. 

“Tuck under love. It’s going to be a long night.” Johnny said softly, and he and Taeyong ducked under the blankets. 

Taeyong tucked his hands under his armpits and curled closer to Donghyuk, closing his eyes. 

Johnny pressed a kiss to his finger, and tapped Donghyuk and Taeyong’s foreheads. He shifted a little so his back was taking the brunt of the wind, and pulled Taeyong and Donghyuk into the hollow space next to his chest. 

His purr was deep and rumbling, only a little impeded by his collar, and Taeyong sighed, drifting off to sleep. 

Johnny watched him, and felt happy. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey y'all. Be warned, there might not be a chapter for a couple of days, my friends and I are going through some stuff
> 
> kind of a vent incoming, if you want to skip it, feel free. Find me on instagram @that_is_shocking  
> love you all  
> Alex
> 
> cuz next year to live together, we'd get a campus apartment, but since there's five of us, and only four allowed in an apartment, we have to figure out what we're going to do.. which is going to suck. none of us really wanted to live with one of our friends, because her personality clashes with at least three of us, but if that's the deal then we'd be splitting up into a group of three and a pair, but for all of us who want to live together, we'd be leaving one of us behind. if that makes sense.  
> idk. it's rough for me I think... because I don't particularly like the one friend that my personality clashes with, because she's really negative and argumentative and that just kills my mental health, so living with her would be really hard for me, but we don't want to just exclude her. It's a whole deal.  
> I'll try to explain it better.  
> There's five of us, Nick, Ash, Bri, Alex (me) and Kaya. Ash and Kaya live together right now, and Ash does NOT want to live with Kaya next year.  
> Nick and Bri live together now too, and Nick doesn't want to live with Kaya, but she absolutely wants to live with Bri.  
> I don't want to live with Kaya, but I will because I'm a coward and can't really say no because I get anxious about hurting people's feelings  
> Bri is okay with living with Kaya  
> Kaya is really negative, and she really wouldn't do well living with us, (Me and Nick in particular, because Kaya and I fight a lot and Nick doesn't take shit and Kaya being an asshole and being inconsiderate of others would piss Nick off) and we were going to suggest she get a single room in the dorms because being on her own, yet having people around her like an RA to keep an eye on her would be pretty good for her, and it would help her get over her co-dependency thing with both her terrible mother, and me and Bri.  
> But Bri and I don't think she's in a good place right now, and pushing her out like that might be really not good, so we are thinking about splitting the group like I mentioned. Me+Nick+Ash (plus a rando because you need 4 people for an apartment) and Bri+Kaya (+2 randos).  
> idk. I feel bad for wanting to push Kaya out, but she's so negative, and that shit wears on you. BUT she's also had a really hard time and needs her friends around her.  
> Which is also the problem, because if she needs us to be there for her, then we absolutely should be, but she pushes all of my buttons.  
> I feel like I'm just repeating myself at this point, and that none of this shit makes sense. idk why someone would read this, but I just needed to talk it out with myself? I think?????? Idk. Just know that I'm trying to work some stuff out in my life right now, and that the next chapter might not be for a few days.  
> I love you all, i talk a lot about me, but if you need to talk about you, if you just want to talk, find me on instagram or leave a comment. I really love talking to you guys, it makes me really fucking happy. 
> 
> If you want a really really good fic that's got hybrids in it, I really recommend Moon Diamond by Fox_155. It's amazing. It's also got some possibly triggering material in it, so be a little careful, and read the tags please before you get into it!  
> https://archiveofourown.org/works/17644265/chapters/41606183  
> Sorry for the angsty note, I'll see you all in the next chapter!  
> -Alex (again)


	4. 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oof this chapter fought me hard. My apologies if it's not good.  
> This one's for Descott98, Matchmakers, kittyongx , and jessicamichelle97

The door to the Center jingled as Taeil pushed through it, still laden with the plastic bags from the 24 hour mart. 

Jaehyun shook the snow off his head, following close behind him. 

“Hey Taeil hyung!” Hendery called from reception, Ten only looking up briefly from his lounging. 

Taeil shrugged the coat off quickly. 

“Kitty!” Jaehyun cooed, making a kissy face at Ten, who hissed at him half-heartedly. “I brought you a donut!” Jaehyun announced, and the pretty angora cat’s ears picked up. 

Taeil left Jaehyun and Ten to argue over donuts, and entered the side door to the reception desk. 

“How was the walk?” Hendery asked, as Taeil put his coat up on his labeled hook. 

Taeil sighed, and unwound his scarf. 

“Jae and I found a cat on the street.” He said softly, watching as Hendery’s brows furrowed. “We went as fast as we could to a convenience store, but he was gone when we got back. I’m…. I’m really really worried about him now.” 

Hendery nodded, and accepted one of the bags from Taeil. 

“I got the weather warning too.” The receptionist murmured, and patted Taeil’s shoulder. 

Taeil scrubbed a hand over his eyes. 

“He’s going to freeze to death.” 

Jaehyun noticed Taeil’s distress, and hurried through the staff door. 

“Hyung.” He pouted, bumping his head into Taeil’s shoulder. “Please stop being sad! If you’re sad it makes me sad too!” 

Taeil ruffled Jaehyun’s ears, and stood up straight. 

“I’m not sad honey, I’m just worried. I’m gonna look at the calendar for this afternoon, maybe we can get a few people together to look for him.” 

Jaehyun perked up, and bounced around. 

Ten sighed from the reception couch he was sprawled on. 

“Do I have to goutside?” He whined, and Hendery raised an eyebrow. 

“No Chittah, you don’t have to go outside. I would be looking for a few dogs to do the tracking.” 

Ten grinned, and sunk back into the couch. “Perfect. Much less work for me.” He purred, and Jaehyun huffed at him. 

“You’re a brat.” Hendery called, and Ten closed his eyes, wiggling a little to get comfortable. 

“I’ll be in my office now Hendery, just call me if you need me.” 

Jaehyun followed close on Taeil’s heels as Taeil headed for the elevator. 

“Hyung.” He said excitedly, pressing the button for Taeil’s floor. “I’m gonna go give everyone donuts after I ditch my stuff, okay?” 

Taeil nodded, and Jaehyun wagged his tail, the appendage thumping against Taeil’s leg. 

The floor numbers ticked up higher, closer and closer to eleven, which was the floor Taeil’s office was on. 

The doors slid open, and Jaehyun bounced out, leaving Taeil behind. 

He waved to Tzuyu, the receptionist for the offices, and she waved cheerily back, before the phone rang, and she waved Taeil past. 

Taeil passed the offices of the on-duty staff, raising an eye at Mark who was playing a game on Sicheng’s couch. 

Mark stuck his tongue out at him, and then raised his leg to show off the ankle brace he was sporting. 

Taeil sighed, and stepped into Sicheng’s office. 

The Pediatric Doctor’s office was warm and homey feeling, with the large desk in the corner decorated with little crafts, and pictures of Sicheng with his three hybrids. 

“Nice boot kitten.” Taeil said, leaning down to scratch Mark’s ears. 

The seven year old pouted at him. “I slipped on the rug this morning chasing the laser pointer and hyung said I had to wear a brace.” 

Taeil pouted along with Mark, and sat down on the couch next to the little cat. He lifted the booted foot up to look at it a little closer. 

He inspected it for a few moments longer as Mark watched him over the top of the old iPhone (One of Xiaojun’s phones that he had given to Mark to keep the kitten occupied when he came to the office with Sicheng)

“I think… I think we’ll have to cut it off.” Taeil announced dramatically. “There’s no saving it!” 

Mark gasped and yanked the leg back from Taeil’s hands. 

“No!” 

Taeil grinned at him, and pet Mark’s soft ears. 

“Just kidding Minhyungie.” He cooed, and Mark glared at him. Just then, Sicheng sauntered back into the office. 

“Boss.” He said to Taeil in a greeting. “What’s this I hear about cutting feet off?” 

Mark wiggled out of Taeil’s grasp and shot into Sicheng’s lap as soon as the doctor was back in his seat. 

The Siberian cat bumped his head into Sicheng’s shoulder, and started to purr. 

“Taeil-hyung wants to cut my foot off.” He whined to Sicheng, who stroked his hair. “Tell him no please Ge!” 

Sicheng raised an eyebrow at Taeil, who was still relaxed on the couch. 

“I was joking, Mark can keep his paws.” Taeil said, smiling warmly. “Was it a bad sprain?” 

Mark was rubbing his little head against Sicheng’s neck, and Sicheng shook his head carefully. 

“Nah, kitten just got a little bit excited this morning after we had one too many pancakes. He slipped on the entry rug and twisted it.” 

Mark, satisfied that Sicheng smelled like him now scuttled back to Taeil’s lap. He picked the phone back up and went back to his game, making Taeil chuckle. 

Taeil hummed, and gently pet the kitten’s back, making Mark snuggle into him. 

“How’s things today?” He asked, looking back at Sicheng. “Where’s your babies?” 

Mark’s tail curled around Taeil’s wrist, and Sicheng smiled softly. 

“Lele and Jisung are down with Seungmin. Chan brought in his Jisung and Felix today, and Chenle loves Felix.” 

Taeil nodded, and smiled back at Sicheng. “How about work now?” 

Sicheng’s face turned into a pout, and he sighed, rubbing a hand over his face. 

“It’s shots season, and I seriously almost got a finger bitten off today. We had a really really cute Newfoundland puppy come in today to get his 2 year shots, and he was so wiggly, both Chan and the puppy’s adopter had to keep him still so I could just give him the basic shots.” 

“I’m good at shots.” Mark announced, not looking up from his game, and Sicheng rolled his eyes. 

“Anyways, we have Yuta bringing in Renjun later this afternoon for some booster shots. That’s going to be a trip.” 

“Oh lord, you’d better get another intern, I don’t think Chan’s going to be enough.” Taeil responded, and Mark nodded absently. 

“Renjun is really slippery.” He informed Taeil and Sicheng, looking up as the death screen came up on his game. “Once, when we were babysitting him, he managed to get under Ge’s bed, and Gege had to call Yuta-chan to come and get him.” 

Taeil raised his eyebrows at the kitten. “That’s pretty slippery.” 

The kitten vigorously nodded, and restarted his game. Taeil sighed, and slipped the little thing off of his lap and back onto the couch. 

Mark’s ears twitched, but other than that he didn’t acknowledge the movement. 

“I’ve gotta get going Cheng.” Taeil announced as Sicheng booted up his computer. “I’m gonna call a meeting later though, if you’re free, swing by.” He glanced at Mark, and then lowered his voice a little. 

“I had a… rough walk.” 

Sicheng looked at him curiously, but waved Taeil out of his office nonetheless. 

“I’ll see if I can attend. Now get out of here, your lunch break has been over for a long time.” 

Taeil grinned at the younger man, and stepped out of the door.

“You know as well as I that Jaehyun would go stir crazy if I didn’t walk him at lunch, I’ve got a little extra time!” 

From deeper in the office, someone called back “Walk? Did someone say walk?” but Taeil was already heading towards his office. 

His office was quiet and empty, Jaehyun still delivering donuts to the staff. Taeil let the automatic lights come on, and he sank into his chair. 

“Alright.” He said to himself, booting up his computer. “Let’s check the schedule.” 

About 30 minutes later, he had sent out a few emails, and ensured that he had enough time to hold a meeting. 

He had just finished sending out the invitation to join, when Jaehyun opened his office door and flopped onto Taeil’s couch. 

“Hyung~” He cooed as Taeil looked up at him. “I got so many ear pets from Tzuyu noona~” 

Taeil nodded, and rolled his shoulders out a little. 

“Did you finish with the donuts?” 

Jaehyun brightened and nodded, tail thumping. 

“I went around to like everyone! Even the interns!” He contemplated something briefly, and then grinned again. “I went down to see Jeno in KinderPet Care too!” 

Taeil nodded, and picked up a mug from his desk. He sniffed the cold coffee, and then took a sip. 

“You better not have disturbed Seungkwan at all honey.” He warned Jaehyun, who just grinned right back. 

“Nope!” He announced, popping the p. “Kwannie hyung said it was nice to see me! I didn’t go see Seungmin though, to hold little Jisung or Felix, Kwannie-hyung said that the littles were having naptime. I left his donut with Seungkwan.” 

Taeil nodded gratefully. “That was very considerate of you Jae. Did you give Jeno and Jaemin their gummies?” 

Jaehyun nodded, and launched into a story about how Jeno had gotten glue in Jaemin’s fur today during Maths, and Taeil smiled softly. 

The Hybrid Center was huge now, what with all of the support that he had gotten, and the 18 story building was such a far cry from what it was when Taeil started it. 

When he had first opened “The Hybrid Care Center”, it was just a little general clinic catered to hybrids. He had two examination rooms, a recovery room, and one surgery. His office was in his home, which wasn’t huge either. It was a single bedroom place, and he and Jaehyun had been so cramped back then. Jaehyun had been smaller though, which helped a little. 

He, Sicheng, and their now Maternity Doctor Naeyon had survived like that for two years before Yuta had appeared on a tuesday, bringing his surgery knowledge and skills, and a boatload of money. 

From there, the Hybrid Care Center had only expanded outwards. Taeil had decided he wanted to make it his mission to have a one stop care center for hybrids, so now their 18 floors housed a clinic, a pediatrics clinic, a daycare/school for younger hybrids, skills classes for older hybrids, a dentist office, a hair salon, and an adoption center among other things. Their center also made youtube videos about hybrids, hybrid care, and important topics like trafficking, abuse, overbreeding, and issues to look for when adopting a hybrid. 

And just two years ago, he and a few of his major staff had been approved to accept interns from colleges. 

Taeil was proud, he was so fucking proud of where he had gotten to today. 

His team was even considering opening more locations around the city and in other cities. 

His vision had helped to improve hybrid care in his city, with the lax rules making it easy to justify abuse, abandonment, and euthenasia. 

Jaehyun’s happy rambling drew him back into the present. 

“Hyungie, Tennie even let me pet his ears, even though I had to wash my hands first because he said he didn’t want his fur to have chicken grease on it.” 

Taeil blinked. “Where did you get chicken from?” 

Jaehyun froze, and then grinned sheepishly, tail still wagging. 

“Yuta hyung was eating it in the emergency clinic breakroom, and I asked for some.”

Taeil clucked at him a little, and Jaehyun snuggled into the couch more. 

He still wagged his tail as Taeil told him about letting others eat their own food. 

Then, Taeil’s email dinged with a reply from a few of his colleagues. Jaehyun’s ears pricked up and he looked over at Taeil’s computer. 

“Responses from Yuta, a few interns, and an attachment from Nayeon noona.” Jaehyun chirped, reading the previews before Taeil could even start. 

Taeil nodded, and clicked through the responses. 

“Ah, Chan says that Changbin would be alright with going out to look for our lost kitty.” Taeil mused, and Jaehyun’s ears flattened a bit. 

“I don’t like Changbin.” He pouted, running his fingers through the fur on the tip of his tail. “He’s scary.” 

Taeil chuckled, and kept looking. 

“Hmmm. Seonghwa said that Yunho would like to help, and Nayeon said that Jongyeon will be available too. Yuta wants to let us know that he’s bringing Ten and the kids around next wednesday for dinner and to bomb proof the house.” 

“Ten’s mean.” Jaehyun muttered, and then he brightened. “But he’s nice sometimes. Lucas said it’s because cats are natural predators.” 

Taeil rolled his eyes. “Is Lucas the expert on cats now?” 

Jaehyun looked up and nodded seriously. 

“Xiaojunnie and Kun spend a lot of time together now, so Lucas has to hang out with Doyoung hyung and Jungwoo. Jungwoo is still really scratchy and he doesn’t like Lucas, but Doyoung lets Lucas ask lots of questions.” 

Taeil hummed, and sent a few replies out. “That’s nice that Doyoung lets Lucas in his personal space.” 

“Mmhmm.” Jaehyun agreed. “Doyoung hyung still says I have to stay five feet away at all times because I shed too much, but that’s okay. Yuta hyung told him that he sheds too, and Doyoung bit him.” 

“That’s not very nice.” Taeil murmured, typing out a message to Yuta about dinner. “But you should respect Doyoung and his personal space.” 

Jaehyun nodded. 

“Doyoung has sharp teeth I don’t want him to bite me.” 

A few hours later, Taeil was pacing in one of the conference rooms of the Center. 

“I think there should be at least five teams, so we can head down every side road, this cat might be really wary of others.” 

From Yuta’s lap, Ten spoke up. 

“He probably tried his best to confuse his trail so we couldn’t follow him. You’ll have to go slow.” 

Taeil nodded, and marked that down on his whiteboard. 

“Alright, so we have Me, Yuta, and Jaehyun for team one, who is going to be going left on 46th street, Seonghwa, Yunho, Jungkook and Lucas are going to be going right-” 

“Is someone covering for Seonghwa in Pediatrics?” Yuta asked, as Ten leaned down to scoop up a toddling Renjun.

“Wooyoung assured us that he, Sicheng and their interns could handle things, but if need be, Jungkook can lead that team and Seonghwa can come back to the Center.” 

Yuta nodded, appeased, and cooed softly at Renjun who had been plopped in between his and Ten’s chests. 

Taeil cleared his throat and continued. 

“Then there’s going to be Jongyeon, Sunmi, and Hyojong who are going to be on Redwood Avenue going left, and their counterpart is going to be Hyuna, Hwi, Chan and Changbin.” 

On the other side of the conference table, Hyuna nodded, and clicked closed her laptop. 

“And before you ask Yuta, Triple H assured me that the adoption specialist center is done for the day.” 

“I wasn’t going to ask that, I trust Hyuna.” Yuta whined, and Hyuna blew a kiss at him. 

“Do you not trust me?” Seonghwa called from the other end of the room, and Yuta grinned at him. 

Taeil snapped his fingers to get everyone’s attention. 

“We have one more team as well who will be going down a few side streets off of Redwood Avenue. This team is going to be Tzuyu, Daehyun and Kibum from accounting and his hybrids Minho and Taemin.” 

Ten gasped, startling Renjun a little. 

“Oh my god Taemin’s a cat and he’s willingly going out in  _ that _ ???!!” He cried, and Renjun’s ears flattened back. 

“Dear, Taemin can do whatever he wants whether he’s a cat or not.” Yuta said warningly, petting Renjun to make his hair stop being poofy from the scare that Ten gave him. 

“I’m in shock leave me alone.” Ten sniffed, and Taeil grinned. 

He looked back at all the people assembled around the room. 

“Ready to go?” He asked. 

Donghyuk’s fingers were cold, Johnny grimaced as the kitten scribbled on a piece of newspaper. The kitten’s hands shook a little as he tried to color in a picture of a huge building that had the title of “One stop Hybrid Care Wonder”. 

Taeyong was asleep, his head pillowed in Johnny’s lap. Johnny absently ran his hands across the mesh muzzle that covered some of Taeyong’s mouth. He frowned a little at the fraying duct tape covering the sharp edges where he had cut the mesh away so Taeyong could eat. It was coming off, and he was going to need to get more duct tape soon. The last thing the little family needed was one of them getting tetanus from a stray sharp edge. 

“Dada.” Donghyuk whispered, breaking Johnny out of his frown. “Look.” 

The kitten held up the newspaper, and Johnny grinned at the messy blobs. 

“Wow Duckie, you’re a real artist, huh.” 

“Yup.” Donghyuk answered, and then went back to coloring. 

Johnny looked back down at his lap. 

Taeyong needed either some rubber bands to hold his hair back, or he needed a haircut. The dark silver strands were getting long and messy looking. 

There was a small scar next to Taeyong’s right eye, from where a ring had scraped his skin when someone had stuck him. 

Johnny smoothed his thumb over it, wishing he could fix all of Taeyong’s scars with just brain power only. Not that he really felt he had a lot of brainpower. He could read, and he could add, but that was it. The only other thing he really could do was speak several languages, but he couldn’t read in them, or write in them, he could only speak, and even then he couldn’t speak well. 

_ God.  _ He wished in his mind.  _ If only I had been born a human, so I could take care of these people that I love so much.  _

Taeyong frowned in his sleep, and pressed his head into Johnny’s thigh. His nose twitched as his hair fell over his face. 

Johnny quickly brushed it away, and the crease in Taeyong’s eyebrows smoothed away. 

Johnny glanced at the little scar one more time before drawing his eyes away. 

He and Taeyong were covered in scars, but Donghyuk was almost perfect. There was a thin scar on the bottom of one of his feet, but other than that, Johnny had escaped with him before the handlers had had time to brand the kitten like the rest of the hybrids in  _ that place _ . 

“I’m done Dada.” Donghyuk announced, putting the crayon and the newspaper down, and quickly burrowing back under the blanket with Taeyong. 

“Alright love. Are you cozy?” He asked, shifting Taeyong around a little so there was a nice place next to Taeyong’s stomach where Donghyuk could curl up. 

“Yup Dada.” Donghyuk responded, a little muffled due to the blanket. 

“Snug as a bug in a rug?” Johnny aked, his voice getting playful. 

Donghyuk giggled, and poked his head out of the blanket a little. The kitten’s bright eyes grinned up at Johnny. 

“Snuggie as a buggie Dada. Are you gonna cuddle?” 

Johnny poked Donghyuk’s cheek with his finger, and then shook his head. 

“I’m gonna be right here Duck, but I’m gonna keep an eye out.” 

Donghyuk pouted, but then he snuggled into Taeyong a little more. 

“You’re gonna keep us safe from monsters, right Dada?” 

For some strange reason, Johnny felt his eyes begin to moisten, and he quickly pressed a kiss onto Donghyuk’s head to hide the emotions crawling up his throat. 

“I’ll always keep you safe.” He said softly, pressing a kiss to Taeyong’s forehead too. 

Donghyuk nodded sagely, and then wiggled back down into the blanket. 

From inside the pile, the kitten shifted until he was comfortable, and then he settled down. 

“Dada’s really brave. Mama too.” Donghyuk muttered, and Johnny blinked. “Nuh Night Dada.” 

“Sleep tight.” Johnny whispered, and then the kitten began to purr, and Johnny sat back a little. 

He could feel how cold his nose was as he looked out through a crack in the nest onto the alleyway. 

The snow was beginning to blow even more. A little drift had formed at the mouth of the alley, and Johnny blinked. 

_ If the snow gets wetter, I could pack it up around the nest, and make the walls more solid.  _ He thought, and then grimaced. He could already feel the snow on his barely gloved hands. He’d do it anyways though, even if it meant not being able to feel his fingers for a few hours. His family was more important than himself anyways. 

A family of people passed the alley mouth, and Johnny’s ears flattened inside his hood. 

His eyes burned momentarily, seeing what he wasn’t. The father had one little girl on his shoulders, and the other was between him and the other person, all four of them bundled up in similar but not matching coats. 

A gust of wind blew around the family, and a cry of glee came from one of the little girls. 

Then, they were gone, and the mouth of the alleyway was left cold and empty. 

Johnny glanced down at the pile of blankets on his lap, and at Taeyong’s sleeping face. 

He pressed a kiss to his fingertips, and then pressed them onto Taeyong’s nose. 

“Sleep tight love.” He whispered. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> aight not a lot of notes here today, I'm still on christmas break, I just got back from florida on a mini vacation within my vacation. Had a good time, even if my aunt made me get on a segway and it was the singular worst experience I have ever had.  
> Hey! On much much happier news though, Chen of Exo is getting married and his fiance is pregnant!!!!!!! Guys we're gonna have a mini Chen soon! That's so awesome!!  
> Also I'm late on this but Ateez released something new and it's literally my favorite MV and song of theirs of like ever I really reccomend you all listen to it because it's AMAZING  
> AND SF9 got their first win!!!!!!! My boys are acheiving things!!!! Everything is good!!!!!!  
> Ah, I said there'd be not a lot of notes, but this is more than not a lot. I'd better go now.  
> If you wanna chat on insta find me @that_is_shocking  
> I love comments and Kudos, I'm using them as reusable fuel to power my apocalypse bunker, so leave some for me if you want!  
> Love you all!!!  
> -Alex~~~~~~~~~~~~
> 
> ALSO thank you to all of you who left me advice on the last chapter, it really made me feel better about everything, and as an update, most of the situation has somewhat resolved itself with is good, and I'm a lot less stressed about it <3


	5. 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys!!!!!! I'm back!  
> This chapter is for Depression9379, ringpopbrat, Descott98, FroggoGreen (omg love ur username), VioletLullabies, KatKat18, and Matchmakers  
> (There's a lot of you this time!<3 That makes me so happy!!!)

Yuta did not look all that happy, bundled up like a marshmallow in thick winter gear. Taeil wasn’t too happy either, to have to back out into the cold, but Jaehyun was extremely happy. 

“It’s like-” Jaehyun panted as Taeil lead the group through the city. “It’s like an extra walk!” 

Yuta adjusted his scarf and then turned around to make sure that all the other teams were following him and Taeil to where Taeil and Jaehyun had seen Youngho earlier. 

“Spoiled rotten.” Yuta muttered, letting Jaehyun bounce around him. “Don’t you get a walk when you go home for the day too?” 

Jaehyun nodded and paused for a moment to look suspiciously at a tree. 

“That tree had a squirrel on it yesterday. Taeil hyung takes me on a walk in the morning, and then at lunch, and then at night too. I’m super fit!

Taeil nodded and let Jaehyun happily lead the way. He stopped every now and then to sniff at trees, and mailboxes, but he bounced along determinedly.

“We have everything set up for him back at the center, right?” Yuta asked, looping his arm through Taeil’s. 

Taeil checked on the groups behind him and then turned back to Yuta. 

“If we find him, then we’ll all head back and get him checked out. I asked Sicheng to set up a quarantine room for him if he has time, and-” 

“When we find him Taeil.” Yuta interrupted softly. “We’re going to look for him until we find him.” 

The wind whirled around them, and Taeil’s vision was blocked momentarily by a flurry of snow. 

He blinked and the street came back into fuzzy focus, and he sighed. Jaehyun was further ahead of him, creeping towards a raven that hadn’t taken shelter yet. 

“What if we don’t though?” He bit his lip, worry building even higher in his stomach. “What if we’re too late?” 

Yuta shook his head and pulled Taeil along.

“Don’t think like that.” He scolded. 

Taeil nodded helplessly, and Yuta grinned as another gust of snowy wind bashed against them. 

“Come on now, let's get these people moving! We should also probably catch up to Jae, he’s chasing something down the sidewalk.” 

Taeil glanced sharply up to see Jaehyun chasing what looked like a raven with a burger wrapper in its beak. 

“Jae! Heel!” 

Dragging himself up out of sleep was hard this time. It felt like he was stuck in concrete, and bringing himself back into reality was hard. 

Opening his eyes, he saw fuzz, and then dim light. There was a light dusting of snow on the top of the blankets that he had covered Taeyong and Donghyuk with. 

_ That’s odd _ . He thought slowly to himself. The nest normally didn’t accumulate snow inside of it. 

Then a stiff whirl of wind whipped through the nest, and Johnny realized that in his careless sleep, an essential piece of cardboard had blown away. It left behind a rather sizeable hole, and underneath the opening had already piled a tiny drift of snow. 

He blinked at it before another whip of wind made his ears lay flat. 

They stung, and it took a second to remember where his hat had gone. 

_ Gave the hat to Duckie.  _ His brain supplied after a moment, and Johnny nodded. He was having a hard time concentrating. 

That hole couldn’t stay though, so Johnny groaned and dragged himself out of the nest. It was barely warmer than the outside air, and Johnny tucked his hands into his armpits to try to keep them a little warm. 

His jeans did little to escape the windchill, and Johnny lamented the fact that the nest had been torn up a little, he would have loved to stay curled protectively around his little family. 

Glancing around, he found that the missing sheet of cardboard was not in the alley anymore, or it might be beneath the drifts that had started to accumulate. The snow was up to Johnny’s ankle bone, and he curled his toes inside of his boots. 

_ Need to find something else.  _ He thought absently, not too interested in digging around in the snow to see if the cardboard had stayed in the alleyway. 

His collar felt like it was burning his skin, with how cold it had gotten, and Johnny grit his teeth. 

His feet felt like lead, stepping through the snow, but he shoved the discomfort away. Near the mouth of the alley, there were a few bags of trash, partially covered by snow, and Johnny beelined for them. 

His hands began to prickle as he removed them from the safety of his armpits, but he needed both of them to haul the bags back towards the nest. 

He grimaced at the footprints he had left, and the weird drag marks the bags made in the snow. 

_ Can’t worry too much about that right now. No one in their right mind would be out in this storm.  _ He reasoned, and the tension released from his stomach slightly. 

One bag was heavy, and there was the occasional clink of glass in it, while the other one had a familiar weight of leaf detritus from the flower store to the left of the alley. 

The light one was packed against the hole in the nest, and the heavy one was settled behind it, keeping it firmly in place. 

Two trash bags next to a dumpster wasn’t suspect, so Johnny, shivering violently already, was happy with his work. 

He crawled back into the nest, and carefully brushed the snow off of the blankets. He scooped up the little drift with his hands and dumped it outside. 

His job done, he leaned heavily against the dumpster. The cold metal wasn’t all that bad, the trash inside of it making it a little bearable, but Johnny really didn’t care. 

Things were going a little out of focus, and he blinked. 

Taeyong whimpered from under the blankets as the wind howled at the entrance of the alley. Johnny’s hair stood on end a little, the sound reminiscent of the actual dogs  _ that place  _ used to have. 

He didn’t like actual dogs, you couldn’t beg with an actual dog. 

He resisted the urge to reach into the blankets and smooth the frown from Taeyong’s face. His hands were too cold for that, and Taeyong was trying to keep Donghyuk warm. Johnny couldn’t afford to steal some of that warmth with his icy hands. 

Assessing his options, Johnny decided the warmest place for his hands was back in his armpits. His legs were cold still, so in between his thighs were out of the question. 

Shifting a little, Johnny wiggled so his back would be taking the wind again. He wiggled his toes in his boots, trying to encourage them to warm up too. 

From in the blanket pile, Donghyuk meeped a little, and Johnny grinned tiredly. 

His dear baby didn’t take with him any memories from that place, only a rough idea of his Omma. 

His kitten dreams were mostly concerned with whatever story Taeyong had told, or whatever regular cat had wandered past the nest that day. (There was an exceptionally beautiful pale longhair that Taeyong and Donghyuk had made tentative friends with, that Donghyuk had named Cinderella)

But he remembered nothing of  _ that place _ . Johnny didn’t actually know how old Donghyuk was. He could be two, or three, only his Omma knew. Johnny had barely gotten a look at the pretty young thing, but he remembered how Donghyuk and the other cat had the same hair. Brown and fluffy, Duck’s Omma with more matted long hair, and Donghyuk with baby down. 

They shared the same green eyes too. Donghyuk had asked about his eyes. Johnny’s coloration gave him rich honey amber eyes, and Taeyong had cold blue green eyes, but Donghyuk had vibrant green eyes. 

Donghyuk had asked him if the storks had dropped him off at the nest, like in the story Taeyong had told him, and Johnny had told him no. 

_ “The storks didn’t bring you my love. Your Omma gave you to us because he knew that we would love you so much.”  _

Donghyuk had nodded, appeased for the moment, but he had still asked Johnny again later why his Omma didn’t just keep him. 

Taeyong had cuddled the kitten into his chest, and let Donghyuk listen to his heart beat. 

_ “Mama and Dada came from a not good place.”  _ Taeyong had whispered.  _ “We had to leave because it wasn’t safe. Your Omma couldn’t leave, but he wanted you to be happy, his sunshine needed to be in the sunshine, right?”  _

_ “He loved you so much, and if he could have kept you, he would, but like Mama said, it wasn’t safe, and he cared about you too much to keep you somewhere not safe. I’m sure he loves you still, even now.”  _ Johnny added, petting the kitten’s ears.

_ “But he wanted me to be safe?”  _ Donghyuk had asked.  _ “Like when Mama opens cans weird so I don’t get cut up lisps?”  _

_ “Cut up lips, and yes. He kept you safe for as long as he could, and then he asked us to keep you safe for him.”  _

It wasn’t so much that the other cat had asked, he more or less shoved Donghyuk into Johnny’s arms, and then Johnny and Taeyong were running again. 

Donghyuk had chirped that he was gonna meet him when he was old like Dada, and take him to the sunshine too. 

Taeyong had nodded, and lay back, taking the kitten with him, making Donghyuk giggle. 

A soft chirp made Johnny blink, and he was back in the present. The blankets wiggled a little and then settled down. 

Johnny carefully lifted the edge, and ran a hand over Taeyong’s forehead, and then Donghyuk’s ears. 

Taeyong shivered, and Johnny pulled his hands away. 

An eye cracked open, pupil wide and unfocused. 

Johnny grinned tiredly at Taeyong as his eye’s contracted to suit the light. 

“Nee?” Taeyong whispered, voice still sleep heavy. 

Johnny brushed some hair out of Taeyong’s eyes. “Hey baby.” He said softly. 

Taeyong closed his eyes and leaned into the touch. 

“Doing alright?” Johnny asked as soon as Taeyong’s eyes opened again. 

The Russian Blue frowned slightly, and then shuddered. 

“Cold.” He rasped, and Johnny sighed. 

“We had a hole for a bit. I patched it.” 

Taeyong nodded, and sat up a little. 

A petulant whine came from the hollow of his stomach, and Taeyong froze. 

Johnny chuckled and pushed Taeyong back down. 

“Stay in the blankets baby.” He whispered, and Taeyong blinked lazily. 

“You aren’t under them with me though.” 

The whine made Johnny’s smile brighten a little. 

“I was caught up in some thoughts. I’m gonna stay awake, I don’t want another hole to get formed.” 

Taeyong pouted, but another sleepy whine from Donghyuk drew him back into the blankets. 

“Are you still cold?” Johnny asked him, settling the blankets back around the skinny hybrid. “I could go out to see if I can find a few more garbage bags to shore up the holes, or maybe there’s a shelter that’s open where I can find another blanket-” 

Taeyong’s eyes widened in panic, and his hand closed around Johnny’s wrist lightning fast. 

“Stay!” Taeyong gasped, and Johnny blinked at him. 

“Of course. I won’t leave.” Johnny whispered, and Taeyong closed his eyes. His grip stayed tight though, and Johnny rubbed his thumb over Taeyong’s eyebrow. 

“Do you think Duckie is warm enough?” Taeyong asked, and Johnny looked down at the kitten in the cave that Taeyong had made by sitting up a little. 

His cheeks were rosy, but he wasn’t shivering. Johnny carefully stuck his hand into the coat, and found it warm. 

“He’s okay.” Johnny murmured back, and reached under the beanie on Donghyuk’s head to feel the kitten’s ears. 

“He’s warm Yongie, don’t worry.” Johnny muttered, and Taeyong nodded. The metal of Taeyong’s muzzle shone a little in the light, flecks of rust marring the surface and Johnny frowned at it. 

He unwound the scarf from his neck, and wrapped it around Taeyong’s face in an attempt to keep the dull metal warmer. 

Taeyong made a sound of protest, but Johnny smiled softly at him. 

Johnny pulled up the hood on his hoodie, and pulled the frayed strings tight. 

“I want you to be warm too darling.” Johnny murmured, and Taeyong nodded, still frowning. 

“Go back to sleep, I’ll wake you when the storm stops.” Johnny said gently, ad Taeyong sighed. 

Johnny reached out to smooth away the crease on Taeyong’s brows. His fingers weren’t moving right, but Taeong relaxed. 

“Don’t forget to wake me.” Taeyong murmured, and then he was curling his head down under the blanket to cuddle up closer to the kitten nested in the middle. 

Johnny sighed, and looked out at the alley through one of the holes in the makeshift walls. 

The wind was blowing, and the snow was falling, and Johnny shivered.

Taeil and his cohort had finally reached the intersection where he had seen Youngho. 

The group gathered, and Taeil gestured for people to quiet down. The wind blew around them unforgivably, and he grimaced. 

“I know it’s cold, and I just want to thank you all for helping me despite the inclement weather.” He announced, and a few people nodded. 

“This is where we are going to all part ways, if any of you find anything, and I mean  _ anything  _ call me and then call the center.” 

The group nodded, and when Taeil asked for questions, none were offered. 

Taeil’s little herd thinned quickly after Jaehyun had described how Youngho had smelled, and groups peeled off onto their respective streets. 

Finally, it was just Yuta, Jaehyun, and himself. 

“Ready to go boys?” Yuta asked, tightening his scarf. 

Jaehyun nodded eagerly, and then pouted. 

“There’s so much snow and wind, I don’t think I’ll be able to smell him!” He whined, and Yuta reached up to pat his cheek with a mittened hand. 

“It’s okay Jae.” He told him, ignoring Jaehyun’s puppy eyes. “Taeillie said that we were going to just walk that way, and if we smell something, then we follow it.” 

Jaehyun stuck his bottom lip out, but Taeil could tell he was doing it just to weasle something out of Yuta. Maybe Yuta had gummy worms in his pockets or something. 

Taeil interrupted them before Jaehyun could ask for a snack. 

“We;d better get a move on before the wind gets worse.” 

Yuta nodded, and Jaehyun bounced ahead, forgetting the snacks, still excited to be out and about instead of in the office. 

“Taeil hyung?” He called back, turning back, tail wagging hard. “If we find the kitty, can we keep him? I want a friend!” 

“Don’t you have everyone at the office?” Yuta called back, looping his arm through Taeil’s. 

Jaehyun frowned, and then shook his head. 

“I want someone who goes on morning walks with me, and Xiaojun’s too lazy to get up early to bring Lucas to meet us!”

Yuta grimaced, and then turned to Taeil. “Xiaojun’s an early riser, just how early are your morning walks?” 

Jaehyun, obviously hearing that trotted back to Taeil and Yuta. 

“Morning walk is before showers and teeth brushing.” He announced, a particularly hard gust of wind turning his ear lopsided. 

Taeil reached up to fix it as Jaehyun happily attached himself to Taeil’s other side. 

“And that is…” Yuta prompted and Taeil sighed. 

“Morning walks are pretty much right after we wake up, around five thirty?” 

Jaehyun nodded cheerfully as Yuta gasped. 

“No wonder Xiaojun doesn’t want to get up to walk Lucas with you two.” 

“Lucas likes to nap a lot though, so it’s okay, I get to see him at the office all day!” Jaehyun chirped. His ears pricked up as a leaf blew past the trio, and he bolted to chase it. 

The sudden movement sent Taeil slipping on the ice, sending him and Yuta both down onto their asses. 

“Jaehyun!” Taeil shouted, but the dog hybrid was lost in a blurry gust of white. 

“Damn it.” Yuta grouched, pulling himself up off the sidewalk. “I should have worn shoes with more traction!” 

“Jaehyun!” Taeil struggled to his feet. “Come!” 

Yuta reached out and pulled Taeil up next to him. As soon as Taeil was firmly on his feet, Yuta was pulling his gloves off. 

Putting his pinkies into his mouth, he whistled hard, but the sharp sound was lost in the strong buffer of wind. 

“Jaehyun come!” Taeil shouted again, but the hybrid had vanished. 

Jaehyun bounced after the little brown shape that was punched along by the wind. It smelled like squirrel, and Jaehyun  _ loved _ squirrels. Maybe even more than he loved beef jerky and Taeil’s cooking. But not more than Taeil. Taeil was on the top of the list.

The leaf disappeared around a corner, and Jaehyun panted. He turned back to pout at Yuta hyung and Taeil hyung, but he found the street empty. 

His ears immediately perked up, trying to listen for the telltale worrying that Taeil did constantly, but all he could hear was the wind howling past the alleyway openings. It sounded like a dog howling, and he had the urge to start yelling. 

He tried it, but his voice just got lost in the wind. It had gotten really windy, and he regretted not listening to Taeil about wearing a hat, but he had a super duper valid reason! 

He forgot his hat back at his house, and he wasn’t going to borrow one from the office! Ten had offered, but Ten was a cat that he  _ didn’t  _ like, no matter what Taeil tried to say. Ten’s hat had a really big pom pom on it, and pom poms were ENEMIES!

Jaehyun made to turn around to trace his quickly disappearing steps back to wherever Taeil and Yuta were left, but a whiff of something brushed his nose. 

It smelled like pine trees, and metal, and crayons. 

The pine trees he recognized though! That was Youngho! His cat friend! 

“Youngho?” He called, lifting his nose a little higher to try to smell more, but the wind twirrled around him and all he got was a nose full of snowflakes. 

Snowflakes were absolutely fun when Taeil was making snowballs for him to chase, or when he and Lucas were making a snow dog for the front of the center, but they were not fun up his nose. 

He sneezed hard, and caught another breath of the smell that was Youngho. 

“Taeil hyung was worried about Youngho.” Jaehyun reasoned to himself. “He wants to find him, so I should follow it!” 

A part of his brain told him to  _ sit  _ and  _ stay _ because he wasn’t supposed to go anywhere without Taeil hyung, but this was important! 

“Sorry hyung.” Jaehyun called, and then stepped forward. He couldn’t quite smell the smell anymore, but he knew a little about where it came from. 

Down the street, a sign for a pizza place and a flower shop blinked every now and then in the snow. 

The little closed sign drew him in, and Jaehyun started determinedly forward. 

Another gust brought the smell back, and Jaehyun went a little faster. It was important to find Youngho the best kitty so that Taeil could take him back to the center, and so he and Jaehyun could be best friends forever. Well, Taeil was his best friend, and he was Taeil’s best friend, so maybe hybrid best friend?

No, Lucas would be so sad that he and Jaehyun weren’t friends, so maybe cat best friend. 

The flower shop looked fun inside, plenty of green things in the windows even though it was the middle of winter. 

Maybe they’d have grass for Jaehyun to chew on? Taeil always told him not to eat grass, and that it makes hybrids sick, but it was sooooo tempting. Who knows why.

Jaehyun shook the side tracked thoughts off of his head. He didn’t have time for that. He was going to find Youngho, because they were already friends, and Taeil was gonna let him live with him and Jaehyun because Jaehyun was gonna ask with puppy eyes.    
The alleyway between the flower shop and the pizza place was drifted over with snow. It looked like about mid shin height, and Jaehyun grinned at it. Taeil hyung wouldn’t mind if he took a moment to sniff at the bags of trash, just in case there were squirrels eating pizza in the dumpster. 

Squirrels definitely ate pizza because Jaehyun saw a rat eating pizza once, and rats were pretty much just unexciting squirrels. Luas chased a rat once and got bitten on his hand and he had to get really big rabies shots for like two months! 

Jaehyun did not want to encounter a rat, not that he was  _ scared _ of encountering a rat, he absolutely wasn’t scared. He just liked squirrels better. 

The wind suddenly was raging around him, and it felt like it had actually pushed him a little into the mouth of the alleyway. 

Jaehyun turned around, fully ready to yell as loud as he could at it, because yelling was fun, and he needed to teach the wind a lesson, when a strong gust of the pine smell hit his nose. 

He froze, and slowly turned around. 

The alleyway spun up little snow cyclones every now and then, but the drifted alley was untouched and pure. 

But somewhere down there, Jaehyun swore he could smell something. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so my dudes, I hope you enjoyed, I really have to go to bed, I have class tomorrow, so I'm not going to linger.  
> Check out Black Swan by BTS 10/10 Quality  
> Outro: Ego by BTS as well, it's my biases song and it is ALSO quality!!!  
> Answer by ATEEZ is excellent too, we just have some quality music here!  
> Like I said I have to go, I need sleep.  
> Hope you liked Jaehyun's POV, it's a little scattery, so sorry if it was hard to read (if it was let me know)  
> Comment down below or come talk to me on insta! I'm @that_is_shocking and I will absolutely talk to you!  
> Lots and lots of love (stay warm)  
> -Alex <3


	6. 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> oof yall
> 
> This bad boy is for REBELREDRM, matchmakers, FroggoGreen, ringpopbrat, najaeminstars, Ms_M_Niven, Depression9397, and sunshine_ses1234! Hope you all enjoy!

Jaehyun stepped cautiously into the alleyway. The wind was stronger here, with the tall walls whipping the gusts up into little cyclones. 

He could still smell Youngho though, the piney scent stronger as he stepped further into the alley. 

“Youngho?” He called, ears flat on his head. A few snowflakes blew up his nose again, and Jaehyun stopped to sneeze. 

He took another step. 

The snow was almost pristine, white drifts, higher on the edges, and lower in the middle. Apart from the howling wind, nothing made sound except for Jaehyun’s own panting breath. 

He stepped forward again, and his foot fell on something weird. 

_ Just cardboard.  _ Jaehyun sighed, letting his hackles lower. For some reason, he was super duper tense. 

Fishing the cardboard out of the snow was easy, and Jaehyun brought it up to his face to sniff it. 

It smelled EXACTLY like Youngho! Well, plus some weird stuff, maybe another cat? Maybe two?

It was definitely Youngho though, and Jaehyun frowned. 

“Kitty? Are you here?” He called out again, holding onto the cardboard with mittened hands. 

No answer. 

Sniffing again, he could smell Youngho, clear as day, and the other cat. There was also baked beans, like Taeil hyung made sometimes, and pasta sauce, and… crayons?

“Huh.” Jaehyun muttered, putting the cardboard down. What if the reason he smelled Youngho was because of this piece of cardboard? What if he had been following the wrong trail all this time?! 

He turned around and looked at the mouth of the alley, a few feet behind him. It was certainly a blizzard, he was barely able to see across the street! 

Should he go back to Taeil hyung? And tell him about the cardboard? Jaehyun knew he was naughty for running off like that, it’s just he  _ had  _ to! That leaf smelled like squirrel, and he didn’t mean to lose Taeil like that! 

He sighed and looked back into the alley again. It was absolutely still besides the swirling snow. 

“Is anyone down here?” He called again, and let his ears prick up to listen for a response. There were snowflakes that were blowing into them, and that made them tingle and ache a bit, but he needed to be able to hear. 

“Kitty?!” He called one last time, before he turned around. 

Stomping back out to the street, he shivered. The snow had completely blown away the tracks and the scent he left chasing the leaf. 

_ Which direction did I come from? _ He frowned, looking around.  _ I passed the flower shop, I know that, but was I coming left or right at the corner? Or maybe not even turning at all? _

Jaehyun huffed, and shook his tail to get the snow accumulated on it off. This wasn’t a fun walk anymore, he was getting cold, and now he was lost. 

It was a little more sheltered in the alley though, now that the wind had switched directions, so he stepped back into the drifted snow. 

“Shouldn’t have chased that leaf.” He muttered, holding his mittens to his ears. “Bad dog.” 

A gust of wind rocked him a little, and he whined. Taeil hyung had always told him that if he was lost he was supposed to stay put, but… what if Taeil hyung couldn’t find him here?! Maybe he should try to go back. 

Ten was going to tease him when he got back to the Center. Jaehyun could practically hear him from where he perched on top of the cabinets in the break room. 

_ “Aww, pretty puppy got lost?”  _

Ten would fake pout at him, and then Jaehyun would growl, and Ten would get all hissy. Ten was even MORE insufferable when he was hissy. 

The only cat he liked was Youngho. Well, and maybe Mark and Jaemin, but they were too little to be his bestest friends. They didn’t get to count, so Youngho was his favorite cat! 

_ Take that Tennie _ . Jaehyun huffed, shuffling a little further into the alley. 

The cardboard skittered across the snow, and then out onto the street. Jaehyun’s ears pricked up, ready to chase it, but it was gone too quickly into the blizzard for him to even think about it. 

Jaehyun shivered. 

_ What if Taeil doesn’t find us?  _ Something in his brain whispered, and Jaehyun shook his head. Taeil WAS going to find him. Taeil hyung was the bestest and the smartest and he took really really good care of Jaehyun, he wouldn’t leave him out here. 

_ What if what if what if?  _

Jaehyun whined. He didn’t like thinking like that. Taeil hyung loved him. Yuta hyung and all the staff too. He was a good boy, and he was nice, and sociable, and he listened very well!

He did run off just a bit ago though… what if Taeil didn’t want him now that he ran off?! 

Jaehyun’s train of thought was interrupted by a deep low hiss. 

He spun around and came face to face with a pissed off looking cat, with blue green eyes. 

There was a scarf wrapped around the lower half of its face, and a hoodie covered his ears. 

The cat shivered, but stood its ground, seemingly appearing out of nowhere! 

“Back the fuck up and get lost!” The cat snarled, bare hands ready to scratch. 

_ Oh I do not like this cat!  _ Jaehyun thought, as he took several steps backwards. 

Jaehyun stumbled, and found himself sitting on his ass in a snow drift, frozen in place as the skinny cat got closer. 

“I’m just looking for Youngho!” he announced, holding up his mittened hands. “My hyung said he was gonna get really cold and that we had to find him!” 

The cat snarled, but then it stumbled too, swaying as the wind pushed him around. 

Jaehyun stood up carefully, ears flat on his head as he inched towards the cat. 

“Are you okay?” He asked, reaching out to help the kitty find it’s balance. 

The cat’s claws swiped faster than Jaehyun could react, and a sharp pain on his cheek made him yelp in surprise. 

Jaehyun watched as the cat glanced down at his bloodied claws, and then up at Jaehyun’s cheekbone, stinging from the cold air. 

“M’ sorry!” The cat whispered, as Jaehyun felt a tear roll down his jaw. 

The kitty was suddenly much closer, bringing up the tail end of the scarf wrapped around it’s face to dab at Jaehyun’s cheekbone. 

“I’m sorry!” The cat said again, flinching as the wind twisted around them. “I thought you were bad! I didn’t mean to hurt you!” 

Jaehyun blinked and brought his mitten up to wipe away the tears and the little beads of blood on his face. He really should have worn a hat, it was so cold. 

“What do you mean you thought I was bad?” He asked, a sudden realization filling his eyes with more tears. “C-can you t-tell I’m a b-bad dog?” 

The cat’s big eyes widened and he pulled the scarf tighter around his face. There was something weird hiding in there, Jaehyun could tell, but it might just be more scarf. Or a shark mouth. That would be super cool. 

“No!” The cat cried, wiping at the tears quicker. “I was scared you were going to hurt me! But you aren’t because  _ their  _ hybrids never cried, even if you scratched them really hard.” 

That made absolutely no sense, and the way that the cat said  _ their  _ made Jaehyun a little uneasy, but it was obvious this was a big misunderstanding. Maybe this cat was nice after all!

“I’m sorry I scared you.” Jaehyun announced, standing up straight, tail wagging. “I’m Jaehyun, do you want to be my friend?” 

Jaehyun watched the cat’s eyes widen, before another gust of wind was making the both of them shiver. Jaheyun frowned, the cat was barely in any good clothes, and if Jaehyun was cold, this kitty had to be much colder. 

“Do you know anywhere where we can get out of the snow? I got separated from my person and I’m supposed to wait for him to find me. You look cold too, we should get warmed up!” 

The kitty blinked, and then frowned. 

“You’re… lost?” 

Jaehyun nodded, tail still wagging. 

“I was chasing a leaf.” He announced, and the cat’s ears went back. Jaehyun backpedaled, maybe the cat didn’t like leaves? He had to be nice so they could be friends!

“It smelled like a squirrel?” 

The cat still didn’t really react, and Jaehyun pouted. Making new friends was hard. Youngho ran away, and then-

“Oh!” Jaheyun gasped, “I forgot about Youngho!” 

That was… not the right thing to say. Jaheyun could see the poofy cat tail behind the kitty that announced that this cat was not happy. Whenever Ten’s tail did that he always pounced on Jaehyun or Lucas, it was crazy! Sometimes it happened when Jaehyun got too loud, or when a new hybrid came in to see a doctor, or when Sicheng hyung brought the laser pointer out. Tennie would get all poofy and chittery, and then he’d have a lot of energy that he used up by pouncing and biting and play scratching. Not very fun! 

The cat broke out of whatever freeze thing he was doing, and eyed Jaehyun suspiciously. 

“How do you know Youngho?” He asked, eyes narrowed and tail thrashing, even in the wind. 

Jaehyun smiled. 

“I met him today! He was playing guitar, and I stopped to say hi and to make friends! He seemed really nice for a cat, and the only other cat friend I have that’s close to my age is Ten and he’s so mean to me!” He told the cat, his own tail wagging hard. 

“Anyways, Taeil hyung and I went to buy him some stuff from the convenience store, because Taeil hyung is super duper nice, but when we got back to where he was, he was gone!” 

“That’s not good.” The cat murmured, the words lost a little in the wind. 

Jaehyun nodded vigorously. “It’s really not good! Then Taeil hyung and I went back to the Center, and I got to pet Ten’s ears a bit, but he still said I was messing his fur up, and that I looked like a dead fish when I was napping on the ground! He’s really mean to me.” He pouted, the kitty nodding along. “After that Taeil hyung said we needed to look for Youngho because it was going to get super duper cold out, and you have to be warm to be healthy. I chased the leaf and got lost, and now here I am!” 

The cat nodded, calming down a little. He was still shivering really bad, and swaying so Jaehyun took a step closer. 

“Do you know a place where we can get out of the snow?” He asked again, mittens pressed against his ears. “You look cold.” 

The cat closed his eyes, swaying a little bit harder, and then slumped a bit. 

“Come on. It’s not too warm but it’s alright.” He sighed, grabbing Jaehyun’s hand and dragging him deeper into the alley. 

“What’s your name?” Jaehyun asked, bouncing a little behind the cat. He smelled like honey and green tea, and it was almost as okay as Youngho’s scent. 

“I’m… I’m Taeyong.” The cat said after a moment, and Jaehyun beamed at him. 

“That’s such a nice name! I know lots of people with T names, like Taeil hyung, and Ten, and Taemin, and Tzuyu noona, and Taehyungie, and-” 

“Shh.” The cat whispered, making Jaehyun’s lips close. “We have to be a little quiet, my kitten is still sleeping.” 

Jaaehyun’s ears perked up. He LOVED kittens! They were so cute and fluffy and little, Jaemin wasn’t quite that small anymore, but YangYang was so tiny and fuzzy, even if Hendery at reception said that he was a little devil. 

They didn’t walk very far though, just a few steps past the dumpster, and then the cat was pulling Jaehyun down towards the ground, and the gap between the dumpster and the wall. 

“Youngho’s asleep too.” The cat whispered, as he crawled in to the little area, Jaehyun close behind him. 

“Youngho’s here?!” Jaehyun gasped, tail wagging harder. From under the scarf, Taeyong grimaced. Jaehyun realized that he must have gasped really loudly. 

“Sorry.” Jaehyun whispered. “But Youngho’s here?” 

As his eyes adjusted to the dim light, he could see the big cat hybrid, his pink nose peeking out from a hood. 

“You can stay here as long as you sit there and block the wind, okay?” Taeyong murmured, and Jaehyun nodded. In this little space, blocking the wind must be important. “Once the storm stops, you’re gonna have to go back to your master.” 

“He’s my person, not my master.” Jaehyun chirped, and Taeyong eyed him. 

“If he owns you then he’s your master.” He announced matter-of-factly, tossing a blanket onto Jaehyun and sliding into the blankets next to Youngho. 

Jaehyun frowned at the blanket, and then pulled it around himself like a cape. He pulled it up to cover his head and ears, and then he turned to pout at Taeyong. 

“Taeil Hyung isn’t my master, he  _ did  _ pay for me, but I’m not a slave! I can do what I want!” 

Taeyong just rolled his eyes. “I’m sure he wants you to think that.” 

Jaehyun huffed. This cat was kind of mean! Not as mean as Ten of course, but he was being mean to Taeil! 

“I really do get to do whatever I want!” He whined at Taeyong, bottom lip sticking out. “I’ve got my own toothbrush, and my own room, and I’ve got an allowance and everything!” 

Taeyong’s ears just twitched. 

Youngho opened his eyes slowly. Jaehyun looked at him concernedly, his brows furrowing. He didn’t look very good. 

“Hi Youngho!” Jaehyun squeaked as a big hand shot out to curl sharply around his wrist. 

“What the-” Youngho growled, but the growl was cut off by a shiver. 

“What the fuck?” He finished, voice creaking from sleep and cold. 

Taeyong sighed and gently uncurled Youngho’s fingers from around Jaehyun’s wrist. There were little crescents of pink where his nails had bit into Jaehyun’s skin, but it wasn’t bloody. His cheek probably wasn’t bleeding anymore either, which was good. 

“I found puppy in the alleyway. He got lost looking for you.” Taeyong whispered, reaching out to pat Youngho’s cheek. 

“Hi Youngho!” Jaehyun whispered, as Youngho eyed him. His tail thumped against the dumpster, making a soft beat. 

“Are you sure-” Youngho started, but Taeyong shushed him. 

“He’s harmless. I’m sure. He’s just going to stay until the storm breaks.” 

Sitting up, Youngho stretched out his shoulders a little. Yawning showed off the sharp canines that cats had, and Jaehyun blinked. He didn’t like cat teeth, they were really really sharp. When Ten first came to the Center, he was so hissy, and when Jaehyun went to say hi, Ten bit him really hard! He had to get it all bandaged up and he wasn’t allowed to strain his arm for like three days! It sucked especially because Yuta hyung was supposed to take Jaehyun and Lucas to the park for some running and fetch, but Jaehyun had to stay behind and-

“Puppy, are you listening?” Taeyong’s voice cut through his thoughts, and Jaehyun looked up guiltily. 

“Sorry!” He whispered, grabbing onto his tail to keep it a little contained. “I was thinking about Tennie, and his teeth, and how he bit me once.” 

Youngho raised his eyebrows, and Jaehyun peeled off his mitten. The little scars that the bite left him were pale on his arm, and as he pushed up his coat sleeve too, he explained further. 

“Tennie was really really hissy when he got taken away from his old person, and I was trying to be nice, and he bit me! See?” 

Taeyong blinked at the arm thrust into his face. 

“I couldn’t go to the park with Lucas and Yuta hyung to play fetch, and I had to take these icky antibiotics so that Tennie didn’t give me an infection.” He announced, pushing his sleeve back down. “But it was alright because Tennie didn’t like people yet, and I was too scary for him, so I forgave him! He still bites me a little every now and then though.” 

Jaehyun nodded at the end of his story and watched as Johnny and Taeyong exchanged glances. 

“That’s nice puppy.” Youngho finally said, and Jaehyun grinned, but then a really big gust of wind made all the cardboard and the plastic shiver in the nest. 

Jaehyun squeezed his eyes shut, because the shivery cardboard was kind of scary. 

“Wind’s shifted again.” Youngho muttered, rubbing a hand over his face. “We’ll be getting the brunt of it now.” 

Taeyong nodded, and Jaehyun decided to nod too. 

“Once Taeil hyung comes to find me, you two can come back to the center too! And then you won’t have to sleep outside.” Jaehyun told the pair, who sighed. 

“Did you consider that maybe your master isn’t coming to find you?” Taeyong said gently, and Jaehyun paused. 

“No! He’s gonna come and find me, don’t worry!” He announced after a moment of thought. “He said he was always gonna take care of me, so he’s gonna come and find me.” 

Youngho and Taeyong shared a look that Jaehyun didn’t understand, and Youngho shifted a little under the blankets. 

A whiney meep came from the pile, and Jaehyun’s eyes widened. 

Taeyong sighed, and made the blankets into a little burrito, and dragged it into his lap. 

“Duckie, you were supposed to sleep for longer.” Taeyong told the burrito, his scarf covered face pressed into the blankets. “It’s too chilly for little kitties to be awake.” 

A whine came from the bundle, and Jaehyun broke into a grin. He  _ loved  _ babies. 

Youngho was watching him, and raised an eyebrow at the happy hybrid. 

“I really like kids.” Jaehyun admitted. “There’s a lot of them at the center! It has a daycare, and a school, so it’s super nice to just go cuddle sometimes!” 

“Oh really? A school? For like, human children?” Youngho asked, pulling his knees up to his chest, now that his blanket protection was gone. An icy blast of wind made Jaehyun’s nose twitch, but he shook his head. 

“No, for little hybrids! Taeil hyung says that it’s pretty much abuse to deny education, so people come to drop their babies off for school!” 

“Caboose?” The blanket ball squeaked, and a tiny pink face peeked out of the bundle. 

Jaehyun cooed at him, and the kitten eyed him distrustfully. 

The kitten had the same red ring of cold flush on his cheeks, with the white circle in the middle. That was bad? If Jaehyun remembered correctly, but both Taeyong and Youngho had it too, so maybe it was normal? 

“Hi munchkin!” Jaehyun cooed again, and the kitten smiled back at him. 

“Hi!” It squeaked, and Jaehyun’s dimples deepened. 

“Dada, I’m cold.” The kitten announced, a little hand coming out to rub at his eyes. “It’s so chilly!” 

Youngho lifted the bundle into his lap, and squeezed it. 

“I'm sorry honey.” He murmured into the blankets. “It’s still snowing outside.” 

“He can have my coat if he wants it!” Jaehyun announced, already shrugging his arms out of the arm holes. 

Taeyong’s eyes widened, and looked at Jaehyun. Jaehyun grinned, trying to set him back at ease. He was super good at making friends, and he wanted ALL these cats to be his friend! They were nicer than Ten already! And the baby wrapped up like a burrito was super duper cute. 

“No it’s okay-” Youngho started, but Jaehyun already had his coat off. The wind was already easily biting through the hoodie Jaehyun had underneath, but he didn’t mind. If he had learned anything from Taeil, it’s that kittens are delicate, and super duper precious. 

“I’m not cold, don’t worry!” Jaehyun announced, and passed his blue coat to Youngho, who stared at it for a moment before reluctantly unwrapping the kitten burrito. 

The little kitten had brown curls, and ears that were still too big for his face. 

“I’m Jaehyun!” Jaehyun told him, sticking his hand out for the kitten to smell. Instead, the cute little thing reached out and shook Jaehyuns hand, before withdrawing and sniffing his palm. 

Deciding that Jaehyun’s scent was alright, the kitten smiled back. 

“I’m Donghyuk!” He announced, wiggling in Youngho’s lap a little. “What are you?” 

“Duckie-” Taeyong started, frowning, but Donghyuk had wiggled out of Youngho’s grip and had planted himself in Jaehyun’s lap. 

“You have weird ears.” The kitten told Jaehyun, standing so he could reach Jaehyun’s ears. “They’re all floppy.” 

Taeyong huffed, watching Jaehyun interact with the kitten carefully. 

“I’m a doggy instead of a kitty.” Jaehyun told Donghyuk, letting Donghyuk’s toddler hands inspect the golden ears seated on Jaehyun’s head. “I’m a golden retriever!” 

Donghyuk pursed his lips, and abandoned Jaehyun’s ears to plop down in his lap. 

“Why?” He asked, playing with Jaehyun’s hoodie strings. 

Jaehyun shrugged, and wiggled the strings a little. “That’s just how I am.” He told Donghyuk, a careful hand petting the kitten’s ears. 

“That’s weird.” Donghyuk decided, before he started to purr, the cute little reedy sound making Taeyong relax. 

Jaehyun absolutely loved this tiny little kitten in his lap. Sure the puppies and kittens at the center were cute and sweet, but this one was really special. 

“Sorry I stole your kitten Youngho.” Jaehyun said, looking up at the other two cats, Youngho with the opened blanket burrito and Jaehyun’s blue coat still in his lap. 

The big cat sighed, and blinked slowly at Jaehyun, making Jaehyun a little fuzzy inside. Ten said that kitties only did the “slow blink” when they were comfortable. This little nest next to a dumpster was still freezing, but Jaehyun was making friends, so that made his chest warm. 

“It’s Johnny,” Youngho, well, Johnny said, “and this little kitten needs to get bundled up again.” 

“M’ sitting with Jaehyunie.” The kitten announced, wiggling a little, and then lifting Jaehyun’s hoodie over his head so he could cuddle against Jaehyun’s bare chest. 

Taeyong huffed at him and reached out to poke the lump now hidden inside of Jaehyun’s hoodie. 

“That was rude little mister.” Taeyong chided as Donghyuk kept purring, happy inside of Jaehyun’s sweatshirt. “Did you ask Jaehyunnie if you could do that?” 

“Can I be here?” The little purr was muffled inside the fabric, but Jaehyun nodded. 

“You can be anywhere as long as you’re allowed.” He announced, looking at Taeyong for approval. 

“Duck, you can come cuddle inside my shirt, you just have to put this coat on, okay?” Johnny called, and Taeyong leaned forward to remove Donghyuk from Jaehyun’s hoodie. 

Jaehyun could feel Donghyuk’s little hands running over the skin of his stomach, and he shivered a little at how cold the kitten’s fingers were. They ghosted over the old brand on the bottom of his ribcage, and then went back to poke at it a little more. 

“What’s this?” Donghyuk asked, wriggling. 

“Duckie, out of the shirt, come on honey.” Johnny prompted again, and Donghyuk whined. 

“It’s warm in here Dada, I don’t wanna go out!” 

Jaehyun’s nose scrunched up as the kitten traced the raised skin with tiny fingertips. 

“You gotta listen to your Dada little guy.” Jaehyun said, face stuck into the neck hole of the hoodie to look at Donghyuk cuddled up to his chest. 

“But what is that?” Donghyuk asked again, before Taeyong was carefully pulling Jaehyun’s shirt up to extract the kitten. 

Donghyuk whined as he was pulled back out into the cold cold air. “No Mama! I don’t wanna!” 

“Put the coat on Hyuk, and then if Jaehyunnie says it’s okay, you can go back.” Taeyong told him, rubbing their foreheads together. 

Jaehyun still wondered why there was a scarf over the bottom half of Taeyong’s face, but it wasn’t his place to ask. 

The kitten was snugly wrapped up Jaehyun’s puffy coat, and then Jaehyun was lifting his hoodie up to keep the kitten close to his chest again. 

“Sorry about him.” Taeyong murmured as Donghyuk began to purr again. “I guess now, I haven’t really taught him much about personal space.” 

Jaehyun shook his head vehemently as Johnny draped a blanket over Taeyong. 

“He’s so much nicer than the kittens at the center.” He told the cats. “They’re super cute, but they’re crazy! They chase my tail all the time, and they’ve got such sharp teeth!” 

Johnny frowned, and then looked at Jaehyun. 

“I couldn’t help but see…” He started, eyes darting to Taeyong. “You’ve got a brand. I’m sorry to pry but-” 

“It’s okay!” Jaehyun chirped, smiling at Johnny. “It’s from where I was before I was with Taeil hyung! Yuta hyung says it’s illegal now to brand hybrids, but whoever raised me wasn’t a good person.” 

Taeyong blinked, and Jaehyun looked at the pair seriously. 

“He’s in jail now, for a really long time, and every year we have cake on the day he was put into jail. It’s for celebrating, because Sicheng hyung says celebrating things like that is important.” 

“He’s in jail?” Taeyong whispered, as another gust of icy wind whipped through the nest. Jaehyun was glad that Donghyuk was wearing his coat now. 

Jaehyun nodded. “He’s in jail for hybrid misconduct, and other stuff that none of the hyungs will tell me. I’m not supposed to worry about it.” 

Johnny pulled Taeyong closer to him as Taeyong shivered at a particularly violent gust. 

“I didn’t know you could go to jail for hurting hybrids.” Johnny muttered, and after a moment, he pulled Jaehyun close too. 

“I’m really glad he’s in jail.” Jaehyun told Johnny and Taeyong, happy to be included in the little cuddle pile. Donghyuk’s purring petered off, and Jaehyun glanced down into his hoodie. 

“He’s asleep.” 

“Why don’t you two go to sleep as well.” Johnny sighed, tightening his hold around Taeyong. “This storm doesn’t look like it’s going to let up any time soon.” 

Taeyong yawned, and snuggled into Johnny, but Jaehyun was awake, he wasn’t tired at all. 

There was no more talking for a while. Jaehyun could tell that Taeyong was asleep as the cardboard shook with the wind. He couldn’t feel his toes much, and it was really cold, but he was glad he had found Youngho, because that’s what Taeil wanted him to do. Hopefully Taeil will find them soon too. 

Johnny started to purr, and Jaehyun jumped a little. He looked up at the cat, who looked down at him. His eyes were a little glazed, and Jaehyun frowned, biting the inside of his cheek. 

“How old are you?” Johnny asked quietly, making Jaehyun blink. 

“I’m seventeen. How old are you?” 

Johnny’s eyes widened a little, and then a hand came up to rub at Jaehyun’s ears. 

“Still just a puppy, huh.” He rumbled, and Jaehyun sighed, eyes closing a little. His tail thumped next to them, and Johnny watched it for a second. 

“I’m twenty one, I think.” He told Jaehyun, who nodded. 

“I don’t actually know if I’m seventeen, if it makes you feel happier.” He told Johnny, “Taeil hyung got me when I was either twelve or eleven, and he just had to pick one, so he picked eleven, so I could be eighteen too!” 

Johnny hummed, the big rumbly purr still making Jaehyun’s tail wag. 

“I’m sorry for running away from you and your master earlier.” He told Jaehyun, long fingers still scratching at Jaehyun’s ear through the hood and the blanket draped over Jaehyun’s head. “I was scared.” 

“That’s okay.” Jaehyun chirped. “I was scared of Taeil hyung too when I first met him!” 

Johnny’s chuckle was as deep as his purr, and Jaehyun was really really glad that he found them suddenly. 

“I hope Taeil hyung comes soon so we can go back to the center and be warm.” He told Johnny, who nodded hesitantly. 

“Your Taeil is a good person?” Johnny asked, and Jaehyun smiled. 

“Taeil hyung is the best!” He told Johnny, tail wagging wildly. “He’s super nice and super soft to nap on! He gives really good ear scratches, and belly rubs, and he walks me even if he’s tired! He also makes really really good bacon!” 

Johnny didn’t look convinced, so Jaehyun continued on. 

“He’s super patient, even when I break things, and he doesn’t ever yell or hit anyone, even if he’s frustrated. And he’s a really good doctor too! He doesn’t do a lot of doctor stuff now, because he runs the center so he has a lot of other stuff to do, but he always tries to help everyone.” 

“He’s a doctor?” Johnny asked, abandoning Jaehyun’s ears to rub Donghyuk’s back through Jaehyun’s hoodie. 

Jaehyun nodded and shifted around so Johnny didn’t have to reach awkwardly to get to Donghyuk. 

“He’s super good. He started his center as a clinic with two of my hyungs. We’re a no kill clinic too!” Jaehyun announced proudly, and Johnny froze. 

“No… kill?” He asked, still stiff against Jaehyun. 

“Hyung says euthanasia is murder. He says that if it’s treatable in humans then it’s treatable in hybrids, and if you wouldn’t kill a seven year old for being a little different, then you shouldn’t kill a hybrid puppy or kitten for having the same thing.” 

Johnny relaxed, and Jaehyun shivered. The cold was making everything feel a little hazy. 

“That’s very noble.” Johnny whispered, a yawn splitting his face. “Your… person seems like a good man.” 

Jaehyun yawned as well, and snuggled into Johnny’s shoulder. 

“He’s the best I can’t wait for you to know him more.” 

The wind was still howling, and Jaehyun shuddered. His fingers were okay inside of his mittens, and his toes were tingling inside of his boots, but his chest felt warm. From inside the large lump in his hoodie, a tiny breath huffed against his skin, and Jaehyun smiled, closing his eyes. 

Taeil was going to find him soon, and then he could go home with Johnny and Taeyong and Donghyuk. Taeil didn’t know about them, but he was absolutely sure that he would love them. Ever since Renjun came to Yuta, and Jisung and Chenle Sicheng, Jaehyun could tell that Taeil wanted a little kitten or puppy. Jaehyun was glad that he had finally found more people for Taeil to love. 

Once he found them, it was all going to be okay. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so hi guys. It took a while for this update to go and live it's life, but it's finally here, and that's honestly only because I have a Literature Media and Culture paper to write about some poetry, and I DON'T want to do that, so we are here instead! This week has been a blegh week, but it's looking up for me now! Got all the icky stuff out of my system by skipping a bunch of classes (you should not skip classes) and then I did an art (it's terrible but all of my art is so it's on par with the course) Anyways, some good stuff has happened this week! (or around this area of time idk if I mentioned some of this stuff last update, but I'm too lazy to go check)   
> ANYWAYS  
> Dr. BeBe by Pentagon is out. I am /mildly/ supporting this one... because it's a great concept, and I loved the art and the choreo and the music itself, it's just that my boy Hongseok (my bias btw he's so sweet and good) expressed the fact that he's not all that comfortable in his outfit, and how he doesn't drink water so his abs can be more visible, and I Do Not Like That. So... yeah. I support them because they're one of my bands that I love, and because I love the members, but seriously, I would support them even if they were wearing trash bags. I just hope the outfit is only around for one promotion showcase so that he can feel better and more comfortable. So yeah. Mild support.   
> NCT is having a comeback though! I think?! Idk, ive seen stuff on insta, but I'm too lazy to find out about it myself, so yeah, hoping and praying. AND THOUGH MY BOY JUNGWOO IS BACK NOW!!!!!!  
> Yup. You know, that's pretty much it.   
> I have an instagram if you wanna come hang out, I seriously love talking to everyone and anyone, just hit me up fam. its @that_is_shocking  
> If you don't wanna head to instagram, I recently got a tumblr? I've never used tumblr before, so there's absolutely nothing there right now, but I think you can message me on it if tumblr is more your thing. I'll figure it out I swear.   
> I've gotta go write my essay now... alas, but I hope you all liked this chapter! Leave a comment if you wanna, I will cherish whatever you say to me forever and ever (no joke tho, I have so many screenshots of comments on my phone, they make me so happy!)   
> lots and lots of love (and happy late valentines day)  
> -Alex-


	7. 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> well hello there everyone.   
> This chapter is for: AssassinElf15, Miss_M_Niven, SecretKfan97, ringpopbrat, FroggoGreen, Shadownightes, wewufjohn, Princess_Baek_x, najaeminstars, REBELREDRM, Johnyongist, fujapple, Ellie_baby04, catrabbitferret, and last but not least matchmakers
> 
> (holy fuck that's a lot of people omg)

“JAEHYUN!” Yuta screamed, his voice getting lost easily in the wind. “COME!” 

Taeil shivered miserably next to Yuta, clinging to the taller man’s arm. 

Yuta hissed out a few swear words in japanese and pulled Taeil into the shelter of an alcove. 

“There’s no way he’s going to be able to hear me.” Yuta groaned, gritting his teeth. “We need to call the rest of the teams and figure something out.” 

Taeil sniffled, and let Yuta manhandle him enough to dig his phone out.  _ God… _ he thought to himself, shivering again.  _ What kind of hyung am I? _

Yuta, almost like he could hear Taeil, raised his eyebrow. 

“It’s not your fault hyung.” He announced, pulling his gloves off so he could type something out. “You know how Jaehyun is.”

Taeil nodded, pouting. 

“What if he’s hurt?” He asked Yuta, rocking on his feet a little. “What if he hurt himself and what if he’s all alone, and what if he freezes to death!?” 

Yuta grimaced as Taeil’s phone dinged. He sighed and turned to grip Taeil by the shoulders. 

“Jaehyun. Is. Going. To. Be. Fine.” He told Taeil forcefully, looking him in the eyes. “You need to calm down.” 

Taeil nodded, eyes wide. He sucked in a deep breath, and Yuta’s gaze softened a little. 

“I texted Seonghwa’s team, they’re the closest. He’s going to bring Yunho and Lucas and they’re going to try to track Jaehyun down, okay?” 

Taeil sniffled, and Yuta pulled him into a hug. 

“You’re smothering me.” Taeil muttered, making Yuta squeeze him even more. “Come on, let’s see if anything is open near here to regroup.” 

Yuta dragged Taeil into a coffee shop down the street, and sat him down in a chair. Taeil’s hands weren’t shaking, which was good, but he did seem a little shocked. 

Jaehyun was a good dog, and if he didn’t come back immediately after running off, then he must have gotten himself lost. 

Taeil stared out at the blustering wind and snow and shivered. He hoped Jaehyun was warm at least. He remembered when he first got Jaehyun when he was so small and skinny. The poor little puppy had ears too big for his head, and a really nasty lung infection, among other things. 

Jaehyun had easily fit in Taeil’s arms back then, when he wiggled into Taeil’s bed to cuddle, just a tiny little ball of sharp bones, and eventually soft baby fat. Now when Jaehyun came to cuddle, Taeil was the one who got to be the little spoon, Jaehyun easily curling around him. 

Taeil soon was lost in memories, not really seeing the snow outside.

He smiled to himself, thinking about how cute his little puppy used to be. He was still cute, but seventeen year old Jaehyun couldn’t hold a candle to tiny Jaehyun. 

Taeil really hoped that Jaehyun was okay. He hoped that Yuta was right, and that he was somewhere warm and out of the wind, waiting until Taeil came to find him. 

He was so lost in thought that he didn’t notice when Seonghwa and Seonghwa’s team stumbled into the cafe, accompanied by a swirl of snowflakes. 

Lucas snapped Taeil out of his thoughts though by plopping down into Taeil’s lap. Taeil startled, and then blinked tiredly. 

“Hi Xuxi.” He murmured, letting Lucas lean into him. It really didn’t work, considering Xiaojun’s akita was pretty much twice the size of Taeil, but Taeil didn’t really care. 

Lucas was fluffy and warm, and big, and it made all the worries about Jaehyun come bubbling up even more. 

“Hi hyungie!” Lucas rumbled, rubbing his face on Taeil’s hat, stopping for a moment to bite at Taeil’s pom pom.

“Lucas, I know you’re perfectly happy to sit there and squash Dr. Moon, but we have a job to do.” Jungkook announced, shaking his head to rid it of snow. 

Lucas sighed dramatically, but got up at the other dog’s insistence. 

Seonghwa’s team was obviously Seonghwa, one of the general practice doctors, and Yunho was his husky hybrid, a sweet gentle giant. 

Jungkook was one of the hybrids trained by the clinic for therapy and trauma, and he was very serious about his job and the people he helped.

Lucas was the last of Seonghwa’s group, and he was Xiaojun’s hybrid. Xiaojun was one of the clinic’s longest working intern doctors, mostly staying down in oral surgery. 

Taeil felt pretty dwarfed by all the big dogs, but there wasn’t time to lament his height, like Jungkook said, they had a job to do. 

Yuta herded the hybrids outside, and then they set off to the area they had lost Jaehyun at. 

“So what happened?” Seonghwa asked, settling in besides Yuta and Taeil. The three hybrids were ahead of them, noses in the air whenever the wind wasn’t blowing too strongly. 

Taeil shrugged miserably, trying to tuck his own nose back into his scarf. 

“Jae took off after something, and we lost him before we could call him back. I don’t think he realized we weren’t behind him.” Yuta said, and Seonghwa shuddered. 

“I’m lucky Yunho’s pretty good at staying close.” He remarked, and the trio forwards towards the hybrids, pressed together like penguins. Jungkook’s tail was tucked against his leg, but Lucas’s curled tail and Yunho’s fluffy tail were wagging hard in the cold, their hybrid breeds more used to the bone deep chill. 

“We lost him right up here!” Yuta called, and the dogs turned back towards him. Jungkook nodded, and pushed Yunho from his side, and Lucas as well. They spread out a little, and began to walk slower. 

Seonghwa, Taeil and Yuta stayed back to let the boys do their work, and Taeil shuddered. 

Yuta reached out to squeeze his shoulder comfortingly, and then pulled his phone out. The wind blew hard around them, and Yuta had to hold the phone up to his nose to read his messages. 

“None of the others have found anything, a few thought they had something for a bit, but it was a dead end… Sicheng’s mad at me that I rescheduled Renjun’s vaccinations for tomorrow.” 

Seonghwa snorted, and squinted to keep sight of the hybrids. 

“Hopefully he keeps all his fingers.” He remarked, and Yuta chuckled. 

“Renjunnie’s just like Ten, a little hellcat.” 

Taeil nodded, and pulled his own phone out. The lock screen photo of him and Jaehyun at the beach, taken by Sicheng on one of the rare weekend vacations they took. 

He blinked at it before he read through his messages. 

A bit of the same showed up on his phone, groups reporting back that they hadn’t found anything, Hyuna was taking her group back because of a bad ice fall, and then there were a few email notifications as well. He could look at those later. 

“Jesus.” Seonghwa muttered, wincing at a gust of wind, “Jae couldn’t have gone far, right?” 

Yuta scrunched his nose up worriedly. 

“He’s a runner though, always has been.” 

Seonghwa frowned, and nodded. “Shit then. Hopefully the boys get something soon-” 

“GOT SOMETHING!” Jungkook shouted suddenly, cutting Seonghwa off. The shepard set off determinedly, followed closely by Yunho and Lucas. 

Yuta chuckled. “Way to call it man.” 

The group of humans hurried after the dogs, and into the snowstorm. 

Jungkook lost the trail about three blocks later, stomping frustratedly at the ground, an empty intersection blurred out ahead of them. 

“Damn it.” He growled, his tense shoulders making Lucas eye him warily. “I can’t pick it up anymore!” 

Yuta pulled the hybrid into a brief hug, and then gestured for everyone to get close. 

“Not including the way we came, we have three options here. I say one dog, and one person go down each, and call someone the second they find the trail.” 

Lucas nodded eagerly, and Jungkook relaxed a bit. 

“Solid plan.” Taeil announced into the huddle they had formed. “But call right away if you get something. Don’t stop if you do, but call, so we can try to catch up.” 

Yunho stuck himself to Seonghwa’s side, and Yuta took Jungkook, leaving Lucas with Taeil. 

The hybrid shivered next to Taeil as they turned right, not looking back to see the others head off. 

“Alright Xuxi, you’re up.” Taeil told the dog, patting him on the back. Lucas nodded, tail wagging slowly, He shivered, and then stepped forward. 

Taeil followed closely behind as Lucas took careful steps, pink nose in the air. 

The wind whipped around them violently, worming into Taeil’s layers even though he had wind protection on. It was awful, and Taeil couldn’t remember a storm that had been this bad ever. 

He almost wanted to compare it to an american movie he had watched with Jaehyun, something something tomorrow, where the temperatures dropped violently, plunging everything into chaos. 

Jaehyun loved and hated the movie, and Taeil kind of agreed with him. It was a little scary, seeing teenagers left alone in that big library, while ice crawled up the windows. He had been uneasy when it ended, even though it ended on an okay note, and he and Taeil had ended up watching an old disney movie after to dissolve the weird feeling. 

Taeil’s toes were freezing, but Lucas was hopefully warmer than him. His breed was big and fluffy, good for colder weather, so that was good. Lucas was a strong presence in front of him, and Taeil staved off the shivers so that he could stay focused on the hybrid in front of him.

They walked for almost another hour, slow and steady against the wind as Lucas desperately tried to smell Jaehyun. 

The only thing that made sense was the weird curve of the road, so that even though it seemed like Jaehyun couldn’t have possibly gone this far, the tight packed city with it’s side roads made it so you could get anywhere quickly if you knew the way well enough. 

Lucas paused at a weird intersection, and Taeil bumped into his back. 

“I thought I had something for a second there hyung.” He said, huddling close to Taeil, his teeth chattering a little. “I can’t tell if it came from the left or the right though.” 

Taeil hummed in response, holding the hybrid closer to his body. The snow made it hard to see very far down the streets, but down to the right was a few apartment complexes, some offices, and a shop or two, and to the left, the only thing he could make out was a flower shop, and a pizza parlour. 

“Let’s go a block in each direction, and if you smell it again, we’ll call the others.” Taeil told him over the wind. 

Lucas nodded, and set off down to the right, Taeil following behind him. 

The apartments were dark, and looked a little scuffed up. Not too great of a place to live, but Taeil wouldn’t complain. When the center had just opened as a clinic, he and Sicheng lived in a studio apartment above a butcher’s. It had always been cold and smelled like meat, but Taeil wanted to put as much as he could towards the center, so he pushed through it. When Yuta had come along, they all moved into a three bedroom place closer to the center, and easier to afford, what with the buffer Yuta and his funds provided. 

The shops were dark, nothing open in this weather. It wouldn’t be worth it honestly, only crazy people were out in this storm. 

Taeil was probably a little crazy. 

At the next intersection, Lucas shook his head frustratedly, and Taeil reached out to grasp his arm. 

“It’s okay puppy.” He cooed, petting Lucas’s hat with his gloved hand. “We’ll go back up the other way and then keep going forward if it’s a bust.” 

Lucas sighed, and nodded, pulling Taeil back with him. They hurried back up the street, their footprints already lost from the wind and flakes. 

A piece of cardboard blew past them at the intersection, and Lucas’s eyes followed it before Taeil was tugging him up the other road. 

The wind was a little more violent on this side, cold and harsh. The tallish buildings seemed to funnel it down the street, and Taeil grunted, pushing against the hard force. 

“This is no fun hyung!” Lucas called back to him, eyes scrunched up, and tail tucked against his leg. The wind seemed to cut through everything. 

“I know puppy! Just to the next block though, okay?” Taeil shouted back, and Lucas nodded. Once they got going forward again, the wind wouldn’t be directly in their faces, it would be a little better. 

Lucas paused suddenly, a few feet before the flower shop. Taeil caught up easily, and pressed into the hybrid’s side. 

“What’s up?” He asked, but Lucas ignored him. His face was still scrunched up, but he was drawing deep breaths through his nose. 

_ He’s probably going to get a cold, Xiaojun is gonna be pissed.  _ Taeil thought, before Lucas was dragging Taeil forward again. 

“I smelled it again hyung!” He barked, turning back to Taeil briefly. “Call the others!” 

Taeil blinked, before it hit him again. He quickly pulled his phone out, and tugged his gloves off to type out his passcode. 

Lucas set off determinedly, dragging Taeil behind him. 

_ “Hello?”  _ Yuta’s voice asked through the phone, and Taeil took a moment to take a breath. 

“Lucas says he’s got something!” He breathed excitedly, holding the phone close so his words didn’t get lost. “We are… where are we?” 

_ “Hang on, I can just use your location. You sent it to me a few weeks ago.”  _

“Cool-” Taeil said and looked up. The big hybrid was nowhere to be seen, and he felt another spike of panic shoot through his chest. 

“Lucas?!” He called, pressing the phone into his chest. “Lucas where are you?!” 

The panic disappeared as Lucas’s head popped out from an alleyway. He waved Taeil forward, and Taeil stumbled towards him. 

“I can smell him hyung!” Lucas cheered excitedly, pulling Taeil into the alley. The stone walls directed the wind even more, and Taeil felt like it was going to push him over. He pressed the phone back up to his ear. 

_ “I see where you are, you kind of looped back around weirdly? I’ll call Hwa and we’ll be there in a few minutes- No Jungkook let me finish my call and then we’ll go, okay?- If Jae’s hurt at all, call Sicheng, and don’t wait for us okay?”  _

“Okay, hurry though.” Taeil answered, and Yuta called a goodbye before he was hanging up. 

Taeil lowered his phone, and quickly decided to take a picture of the alleyway. They might need it for something, his hands told him. 

Lucas was already hurrying further down, leaving big boot prints behind him. 

“Wait for hyung Lucas!” Taeil called, stumbling to catch up. “Just wait for a second!” 

Lucas paused, looking back at him a little guiltily, but Taeil caught up quickly. 

“Okay honey, use that amazing nose and let’s find Jae.” Taeil panted, and Lucas nodded, bouncing a little. His tail was wagging again, and Taeil was glad. 

Lucas pushed forward, the snow about mid shin height. Taeil was glad for the foresight for wearing thicker pants that had a little bit of waterproofing on them. If he was still in his slacks, this would have been hell. 

“I can really smell him now!” Lucas called, stepping through the snow. 

There wasn’t much in the alleyway, a dumpster about twenty feet down, with a few trash bags leaning against it, but other than that, it was just smooth snow. 

Taeil gulped. What if he was about to find Jaehyun frozen to death? What if Lucas was wrong, what if it was something else he was smelling?

“Hyungie come on!” Lucas urged, reaching out to take Taeil’s hand. “He’s close!” 

Taeil nodded, swallowing down the fear for now. If Lucas thought he was close, then Jaehyun was probably close. 

Lucas frowned, the wind beating at their backs now, sniffing hard. He sneezed briefly, and then stepped forward again. They were about at the dumpster now, and still no Jaehyun. 

“Jae?” Taeil called, his voice a little flattened by the wind. “Jaehyun?!” 

Lucas took another step, and Taeil followed. 

“Jaehyun Moon?! Come here honey! Hyung is here!” Taeil shouted, and Lucas frowned, sniffing again. 

Lucas sniffed again, and turned a little towards the dumpster, still sniffing. 

“I can smell him, but I can smell other hybrids too.” Lucas called, pouting back at Taeil. “What if he isn’t here?” 

“JAE!” Taeil shouted, cupping his hands around his mouth. “JAEHYUN! COME!” 

Lucas sneezed again, and opened his mouth to say something when a very muffled  _ “Hyungie?”  _ Came from behind the dumpster. 

“Jae?!” Taeil called, hurrying towards the dumpster. “Jae is that you?” 

Then, from a space behind the dumpster, a pale, red-cheeked head poked out. 

Taeil took a deep breath of relief as Jaehyun smiled weakly at him, taking in his cold appearance and thin red scratch on his cheeks. 

“My god Jae!” Taeil gasped, surging forward. “Are you alright!?” 

Jaehyun shivered and nodded, his eyes a little unfocused. He was missing his coat, Taeil realized and Taeil frowned. 

“I found Youngho!” Jaehyun announced, ears folding backwards. “I’m sorry I ran away.” 

Taeil shook his head and pulled his own hat off of his head. 

“It’s okay honey, but I was so worried! And what do you mean you found Youngho?” 

Jaehyun blinked, and then pushed something a little out of the way, revealing a dark space behind the dumpster. 

There was a lump under his hoodie, making it look like Jaehyun had at least two watermelons hidden in the sweatshirt, but further into the space, Taeil could see the outline of two other people, and a space that Jaehyun had obviously just left. 

“He’s got a whole family and everything!” Jaehyun told him as Taeil shoved the hat onto his head. He could deal with just his coat hood for now. 

“Oh my god.” Taeil whispered, and then fumbled for his phone. He had to call someone  _ now.  _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> well here we are! Jaehyun has been found!   
> You know guys, I said this was going to be updated quickly, but I am untrustworhty even to myself so that didn't happen. I was kind of in a zone for a bit, but I'm feelign a lot better and a lot happier. I needed to get my sleep schedule back to consistent, and then my mom visited me so that was good too! You all also left such sweet comments, they made me so happy!   
> Not much new is in my life, like I said, my mom visited me, and when we went to walmart to get some groceries, she got me a plant! This one will stay alive, I swear. To be fair, even though my two previous plants died, only one of them was really my fault.   
> Oliver my succulent was squashed tragically by my mother when I went back to retrieve him at Thanksgiving, and then Andrew my mini rose plant survived until I forgot to water him like once, and then he withered like a dramatic asshole. Rip them tho... my new plant is an aloe plant and his name is Anthony! If you wanna see a picture of him, check out my instagram (@that_is_shocking) or my tumblr (I post things about when I am updating, and what I am updating, so yeah that's there now too... I would love to talk to you all either on instagram or wherever, I love making friends. Anyways my tumblr is @that-is-shocking (don't you love how creative my account names are lmao?))  
> But yeah! New plant! I also have been trying to find a new project, because this one is getting close to finished for the time being, and another one of my projects is also almost finished (my huge af Seventeen chat fic called "the fuck"... it's my baby and I have been working on it since like 2018 I think... It's at 59 of a predicted 61 chapters and I'm not ready for it to be over yet!)   
> If you wanna hear about the fics I might write, let me know! I would love to get feedback! I can't put them here, because that would make this end note ridiculously long, but yeah, if you wanna know, just let me know! I'll talk to people about them in the comments, or on insta, or tumblr, wherever!   
> Okay... I should probably go? I think I have spanish homework, and maybe geology homework? idk. I've had a chill week, I have a spanish test coming up, and A geology test too, but I 'm not worried. My philosophy class also got canceled all week so I didn't have class until like 11 today, it was glorious.   
> Okay like I said I have to go  
> If you liked, leave a comment, find me on insta (@that_is_shocking) or on tumblr (@that-is-shocking)  
> Love you all, stay warm!   
> -Alex-
> 
> P.s these notes probably don't make any sense.... many apologies


	8. 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> oof. We are here in these trying times. 
> 
> This chapter is for fireandash, Vallaus, Princess_Baek_x, ringpopbrat, AssassinElf15, REBELREDRM, Sunshine_ses1234, Miss_M_Niven, tyongie, najaeminstars, goompa, matchmakers, FroggoGreen, catrabbitferret, hiraethisoo, SkeletalToucan, and kittyyongx
> 
> sorry this one is shorter than normal

Taeil stared in at the little dark hole, as Jaehyun wiggled around a bit. His shirt looked like he had a coat stuffed under it, and Taeil was just about to ask him what he had when Jaehyun carefully extracted a lumpy bundle from inside his sweatshirt. 

“Hyung.” He murmured, revealing his coat, “This is Duckie.” 

Gently opening the coat, Jaehyun uncovered a tiny little face, and two big brown ears, still too large for the baby they were attached to. 

“Oh, precious.” Taeil whispered, gently taking the bundle from Jaehyun. 

Taeil looked up to look at Lucas.

“Call Yuta to bring a van. We need to get these guys out of the cold.” 

Lucas nodded and accepted Taeil’s phone. 

In the meantime, Taeil looked over at Jaehyun, who looked too pale for his liking, and with concerning white circles on his cheeks. 

“Jae you’re freezing. Come here.” Taeil fussed, unwrapping Donghyuk from the coat. “Put this on and then keep this little guy close to your chest. If you can zip it around him, that’s even better.” 

Jaehyun nodded, and Taeil was left with a warm, but shivering ball of kitten fluff and big ears as Jaehyun pulled his coat back on. 

The kitten- did Jaehyun call him duckie? - meeped, and Taeil hugged him close, carefully shielding him from the brunt of the wind. 

A piece of cardboard blew off the shelter that the cats were in and Jaehyun growled at it. 

Taeil handed the light kitten over to him, and watched as Jaehyun packed him away in his coat. 

Lucas bounced back, and returned Taeil’s phone. 

“Yuta wants to talk to you. Sicheng is also on the line.” He announced, raising his voice due to a gust of wind. 

“Yeah?” Taeil asked, feeling a little breathless as he pulled the two dogs closer down to the shelter, so that the dumpster could hide them a little. 

_ “You found them?”  _ Yuta asked, panting slightly. 

Taeil nodded before he remembered that they couldn’t see him. 

“I did. Lucas found Jae and Jae had found Youngho, and Youngho’s family. 

“His name’s actually Johnny.” Jaehyun muttered, pushing his face into Taeil’s shoulder. 

Taeil nodded. “His name’s Johnny. He’s got a mate, and a kitten. We need to get them out of here asap.” 

_ “I’m clearing a quarantine room for them. Hurry back guys.”  _ Sicheng announced, and Taeil hummed gratefully. Lucas peeked his head into the little nest next to the trio outside the dumpster, and Taeil pulled him back. 

_ “I’m almost to you Taeil, is there any immediate concerns?”  _

Taeil turned to Jaehyun, who was sitting as squished into Taeil as he could. 

“Are the kitties okay?” 

Jaehyun squinted, and then looked down into his coat at the kitten still asleep against his chest. 

“I don’t know? It’s really cold… so they’re probably really cold! Um… I don’t really know, sorry hyungie.” 

Taeil nodded, and reached a mittened hand up to adjust the hat that Taeil had shoved onto Jaehyun’s head. 

“That’s alright honey. Yuta is gonna be here soon, and they’ll have one of the center vans, and we’ll get all warmed up.” 

The wind shrieked around them, and Taeil winced. He shouldn’t check the hybrids over without consent, because he personally knew how jarring it was to wake up and find a bunch of doctors hands on you, but this was an emergency. 

“You two stay here. Keep Kitten warm, and watch the street for Yuta.” Taeil instructed, and then he shuffled over to the entrance of the nest. 

Looking in, it looked dark, and cold, but lived in. There were cans peeking out from under the dumpster, and a new blanket wrapped around the pair still asleep. 

There was a booted foot near the entrance, and Taeil took a deep breath. Shaking it gently, he hummed. 

“Hello? You-Johnny?”

The lump moved a little and groaned. 

“It’s Doctor Moon, we met earlier today? Jaehyun’s my hybrid, I’m here to help.” 

Suddenly, the cat was sitting up, a slurred hiss matching the howl of the wind. 

The eyes that met Taeil’s were wild, and unfocused. 

Taeil raised both of his hands, and backed up a bit. 

“I’m here to help, we’re gonna take you somewhere warm, okay?” 

Johnny looked around, confused, and then blinked at Taeil. 

“You’re… Jaehyun?”   
Taeil smiled and nodded gently. 

“I’m Doctor Moon, Jaehyun’s hyung. Can I come in and get you checked over a little?” 

Johnny blinked again, and squinted at him, trying to focus. 

“Jaehyun?” He muttered, and then he was just sitting there, swaying and shivering. 

“Johnny?” Taeil asked, scooting forward a little. “It’s alright, I’m not going to hurt you or your family.”

Johnny hissed halfheartedly, but Taeil could tell he wasn’t entirely conscious. 

He tried to remain as unthreatening as he could, slow blinking at Johnny, and keeping his posture relaxed and open. 

Taeil thought for a second, and pulled a granola bar out of his pocket. 

“This is for you.” Taeil said softly, putting it on the blanket between him and the big cat. 

Johnny looked at it for several seconds, confused, and still shivering. As soon as Taeil was close enough, Johnny was definitely getting his scarf. 

Johnny picked it up, and smelled it, before looking over at the other lump. 

“I have one for them too. It’s a different flavor, so you can choose which one to share.” Taeil said gently, drawing another one of his emergency granola bars out of his pocket. One peanut butter and honey, and another was oatmeal raisin. Jaehyun adored the peanut butter ones, but they were out at home, so Taeil’s favorite oatmeal and raisin ones had to be substituted until they could make it to the store. 

Johnny carefully inspected the packaging, and then pushed the bars into the folds of the blanket.

Taeil hummed, and scooted a little closer, watching for Johnny’s ears to go flat. They hadn’t yet, so he smiled gently at the cat. 

“It would make me feel better if you ate one now, I have plenty more, you don’t have to save it.” 

Johnny looked at him briefly, eyes incredulous, before he was looking around. 

Taeil watched his eyes dart to the exit, and the bits of Yuta’s coat he could see, and back to his mate, the obvious lump under the blanket. 

Taeil longed to get a look at the other cat, to see what their condition was, but Johnny absolutely wouldn’t like that, and might bolt, and Taeil absolutely didn’t need that right now. 

Taeil held his hand out to shake, and blinked softly at Johnny. 

“It’s nice to meet you, Johnny. I’m Doctor Moon, like I said earlier.” 

Johnny hissed at him at that point, but Taeil waited patiently. 

There was a rumble of an engine at the mouth of the alley, and a happy bark from Lucas. 

Johnny’s ears went flat, and a deep rumbling growl left his chest. 

He kept blinking though, eyes unfocused and drowsy. 

Taeil would have frowned in concern, Johnny was close to passing out, but he had to keep his expression friendly. 

“Those are just my coworkers here, so we can all get somewhere warm. Would it be okay for us to help you to the van? Or do you want to walk by yourself?” 

Johnny blinked, dropping a bit, the growl petering out. 

“Warm?” He asked, and then he was falling forward. 

“Shit.” Taeil cursed, leaning forward to catch the hybrid. 

He was huge, but super light, which was concerning, but Taeil didn’t have time for that. 

“Taeil!” He heard someone shout. 

A few moments later, Yuta was poking his head into the nest. 

“Taeil!” He panted, cheeks rosy from the cold. “I’ve got the van.” 

Behind him, Jungkook sniffed around the alley, his tail getting blown around by the wind. 

“Here,” Taeil grunted. “Take him to the van. Stick him near Jae, he’s gonna freak if he wakes up in an unfamiliar place.” 

Yuta nodded, and gestured Jungkook over. The German Shepherd growled at a blowing plastic bag, still attached by a single plastic handle. Yuta gestured again, and Jungkook crouched down. 

“Kookie, can you help me with our friend here?” Yuta asked, as Jungkook sneezed. 

Taeil helped the pair sling Johnny’s arms around their shoulders, and then they were hefting the cat out of the nest, breaking it a little in the process. 

They headed towards the mouth of the alley, while Taeil carefully uncovered Johnny’s mate. There wasn’t any more time for trying to wake them up. 

The cat hidden under the blankets was male, with tall grey ears. Taeil grit his teeth as he unwrapped a scarf from around the cat’s face to be met with a muzzle, clipped to the cat's ears and collar. 

He made a mental note to call ahead and have Sicheng dig the wire cutters and bike lock cutters out of the storage closet. 

The cat groaned as Taeil pulled him up into his arms. 

_ Too light _ . Taeil winced, the cat felt like sharp angles and bones in his arms, which was really worrying. He’d have to call the dietician as well, this pretty kitty wasn’t probably going to take well to food when they got back to the center. Starved hybrids rarely did. 

“It’s okay honey. You’re gonna be okay now.” Taeil murmured, as the cat shivered, and tried to burrow into Taeil’s chest. 

The wind swirled around Taeil, making him stumble a little bit, his center of balance off due to the cat cradled in his arms. 

At his side, Jungkook appeared, supporting Taeil so he didn’t slip and fall. 

“Anyone else in there?” Jungkook asked, raising his voice a little. 

Taeil shook his head. 

“Jae said it was just Johnny, the other cat, and then kitten. We’ve got everyone. You might want to go back and see if anything in there is worth taking with us!” 

Jungkook nodded, and grabbed onto Lucas and Yuta as they approached the van. 

“Let's go see if there’s anything we need to take with us!” He called, and then the trio was heading back into the alley. The snow was no longer pristine, instead it was crisscrossed with footprints and tracks, and a big divot where someone must have fallen. 

Taeil grit his teeth, even though the wind was harsh in the alley, out in the open, it was even worse. 

The van was blessedly warm, and as he hefted his cargo into it, he sighed. 

The front row had Jaehyun at the window, Johnny, who was blinking in confusion as Jaehyun pulled the seatbelt over him, and now, Johnny’s mate, who shifted a little but didn’t wake, which was worrying. 

Taeil closed the door, and then pulled himself into the passenger seat. He huffed as he pulled his gloves and coat off. 

Turning around, he held out the coat to Johnny, who’s ears went back as he blinked at it. 

“You can use it as a blanket.” Taeil said gently, turning the heat up even more. 

Johnny nodded, ears still flat, as he draped the coat over his mate. 

“How's the kitten doing Jae?” Taeil asked, turning to the Golden Retriever. 

Jaehyun opened the zipper a little bit, to reveal a still sleeping kitten. Johnny reached his hand in to pet the kitten's ears briefly, before zipping the coat back up for Jaehyun. 

Johnny looked… not good. Taeil didn’t like how his head dipped occasionally, like he was fighting sleep. He hadn’t stopped shivering, and he was all too calm with the humans and unfamiliar hybrids around. 

“How are you doing kitty?” Taeil turned to the big hybrid, who’s unfocused stare lingered on him for a while. 

Johnny nodded curtly, and then he was closing his eyes and hunching over into Jaehyun. 

Taeil sighed, and reached out to tap Johnny’s leg. 

“Can you stay awake for me?” He asked, seeing Johnny’s eyes looking at him from under the fringe of hair. 

The cat shuddered, but kept his eyes open. 

The van doors opened, startling Taeil and Johnny a little, but Jungkook and Lucas were already sliding into the far backseat, with a few armfuls of items. 

Yuta slid into the driver's side, and shifted the van out of park. 

“We all good to go?” He called back, and got an affirmative yelp from Lucas. 

He carefully pulled back onto the road, and set off towards the Center. 

  
  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
> 
> ok guys so america has decided that the apocalypse has occured. Which I mean... kind of? Well, for me it's alright because I'm in a good situation, but for a lot of people the shit has just hit the fan. 
> 
> I HOPE ALL OF YOU GUYS ARE DOING ALRIGHT AND ARE SAFE AND HEALTHY!!!!! REMEMBER TO WAS YOUR HANDS, TRY NOT TO TOUCH YOUR FACE, AND PRACTICE SOCIAL DISTANCING! 
> 
> Anyways, it's been a pretty crazy few days. FIRST my school extended our spring break by a week, cuz I'm a wyoming kid (yes we exist) and we'd only had one case of covid 19 in Wyoming (we have 15 now) so they were like ok we're chill still, but then things kind of got crazy, and now my school has been moved online, like many other colleges in the states so far. (If y'all are college students like me, hang in there!) But anyways, I'm home now, but they didn't say yeah school's online until like monday, so pretty much everyone still has to go back and get their stuff, but we have until april 5th to do so which is nicer than some colleges my friends attend. But yeah. I'm home now (still wyoming) and things are a little wild. My family is in a good situation because my parents haven't been asked to stay home from their jobs, because my dad's a radiologist (x-rays and the like) at the hospital, and my mom's the assistant town administrator, so she's a government worker. 
> 
> Again, i hope everyone is doing alright. This shit is crazy, but if we don't panic, it's going to be okay. Try not to panic buy things because that's just a bad idea. 
> 
> There are going to be more chapters coming soon! I'm home for the summer now pretty much, and i don't predict online school to be that crazy.   
> BTW sorry that this one is so short, I didn't want to just squish a bunch of stuff together, just to make it longer, so there will be another update soon, that will hopefully be not as short. I have a lot of time on my hands now so like.. it'll be soon. 
> 
> I also got a few comments last chapter about all the breeds everyone is! If anyone wants specific pics so you can see what I'm going for, just let me know! I'll drop you a link! 
> 
> Johnny (21 yrs)= (Cat) Main Coon (a brown maine coon specifically)  
> Taeyong (19 yrs)= (Cat) Russian Blue  
> Donghyuk (3 yrs)= (Cat) Havana Brown  
> Jaehyun (17 yrs)= (Dog) golden Retriever  
> Lucas (16 yrs)= (Dog) American Akita (brindle colored to be exact)  
> Jeno (5 yrs)= (Dog) Ibizan Hound (White)  
> Jisung (2 yrs) = (Dog) Sheltie (Blue Merle)  
> Ten (18 yrs) = (Cat) Turkish Angora (Black Smoke Coloring)  
> Jaemin (5 yrs) = (Cat) Snowshoe (Fawn Coloring)  
> Mark (7 yrs) = (Cat) Siberian (Orange coloring)  
> Jungwoo (17 yrs) = (Cat) Japanese Bobtail (black and white   
> Renjun (3 yrs) = (Dog) Yorkshire Terrier (Tan colored)  
> Chenle (2 yrs) = (Dog) Pomeranian (Cream Sable Coloring)  
> Doyoung (18 yrs) = (Cat) Korat (There's only one coloring of a korat, it's like a russian blue but more gray than blue, doyoung's fur is on the dark side though)  
> YangYang (2 yrs) = (Cat) Burmilla (Brown)
> 
> ok. I'm gonna go now cuz my sister wants to play some minecraft and she's got a tendency to burn my shit down if I take too long, and I love my house, so I have to skeedaddle.   
> Be safe, be healthy, make smart choices!   
> I love you all!   
> -Alex
> 
> Insta: @that_is_shocking  
> Tumblr: @that-is-shocking


	9. 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> hey guys!!! It's been a while!   
> Hope you enjoy the chapter!

Sicheng was waiting for them at the entrance to the parking garage under the building. 

His arms were crossed and he looked tense as Yuta pulled the van back into it’s space. 

As soon as the engine was cut, Taeil was out of the van, and pulling the other door open. 

“I’ll get grey, I need two people to help Johnny here, and Jae keeps the kitten for now, got it?” Taeil called as he climbed up a little so he could hoist the skinny grey cat into his arms. 

Sicheng was over at his side immediately, hovering like an overprotective mother. 

“Three cats?” He asked, pulling a clipboard out from nowhere. “Anything you noticed?” 

Taeil shifted the cat gently, and stepped down again. 

Jaehyun had an arm under the butt of the kitten still inside his jacket, and one of Johnny’s arms slung over his shoulder. 

Yuta had the other, and Taeil grimaced. 

“Is he awake?” 

Sicheng hurried over, and carefully looked into the cat’s eyes. 

“Awake.” He announced, making Taeil relax a little. 

“Thank god that the main clinic is only on the second floor.” Yuta breathed, and gestured at the rest of the dogs. 

“Boys we gotta take care of this, you all did such a good job.” 

Lucas beamed at him, and bounced around Jungkook who flicked an ear at him. Yunho was plastered to Seonghwa’s side, looking a little sleepy. 

“I’ll take the dogs, go get those cats checked out.” Seonghwa announced, and reached out to snag Lucas’s coat. 

Then, Taeil was being ushered through the doors. Hendery had one held open, and the next one Ten had. 

Jaehyun grinned at Ten, who raised an eyebrow. 

Jaehyun said something, but it was lost to Taeil who was running through his checklist. 

He wasn’t on the clinic floor all that much now that they had so much staff, but he was the senior staff for tougher cases, and more sensitive cases. 

“Where are we headed?” Sicheng asked, stepping up next to Taeil as the elevator doors pinged open. 

“One floor up, room 3. I need you to get one of your interns to get the wire cutters, and the lock kit. And some food and water.” Taeil commanded, and Sicheng nodded. They stepped into the elevator. Jaehyun and Yuta squished in after them, and Taeil moved a little so that the cat in his arms was closer to Johnny. 

“Hey big guy.” Taeil said gently, smiling at Johnny who was still blinking in confusion. His ears were fully flat against his skull, but he hadn’t hissed at anyone yet. 

Johnny turned towards him, and relaxed a little when the gray cat came into view. 

“Could you give me his name?” Taeil asked, nodding down at what he was carrying, but Johnny just blinked slowly at him. 

Taeil waited a few more moments, but decided not to push it. 

The doors opened, and he adjusted his grip on the cat before stepping out onto the clinic lobby. 

Hweseung waved at them from the desk as they hurried down the hall to room three. 

Sicheng propped open the door, before stepping back. 

Taeil let Jaehyun and Yuta situate Johnny on the exam table before carefully depositing the grey cat into Johnny’s lap. 

Jaehyun climbed up behind Johnny and leaned against the big cat’s back, tail thumping happily against the wall. 

Taeil nodded, and then hurried out of the room. 

Jaehyun was sleepy. Being out in the cold, and then in the warm van had fluffed his hair up, and even though Johnny was skinny, and Jaehyun could feel his spine where his side was pressed up against the cat’s back, Johnny was big, and just kinda felt fuzzy. 

Jaehyun liked fuzzy. Donghyuk was purring like a little phone buzzer inside Jaehyun’s coat still. 

It was getting a little warm though, so Johnny unzipped the coat, and cooed as the kitten blinked blearily up at him. 

Donghyuk squinted, and then buried his face back in Jaehyun’s hoodie. It made Jaehyun want to squeal, but Taeyongie was still sleeping, so he didn’t. Taeyong was even asleep when Taeil carried him, which Jaehyun was amazed at. 

Jaehyun himself was too big to be carried around, but Ten was light enough, and all the littles were perfect carrying size. 

Johnny shifted a little, and Jaehyun looked up. 

“Johnny?” He asked, keeping his voice low. “Are you doing okay?” 

The big cat’s ears went back against his skull, and Jaehyun huffed, leaning into Johnny further. 

“Where are we?” Johnny rasped, sounding dazed. 

That made Jaehyun pause a little. 

He rubbed a hand up and down Donghyuk’s back, and sighed. 

“We’re at Taeil hyungs office, well, this isn’t his office, his office is upstairs. He’s got a really nice couch that’s comfy, and he ordered a beanbag chair for me cuz I like to take naps up there. The other hybrids go up there too so sometimes there’s a lot of people and we don’t all fit on the couch.” 

Johnny nodded, and shifted around a little, trying to card a hand through Taeyong’s hair. The knots and the muzzle attachments made it hard, but where he could reach, he gently scratched Taeyong’s scalp. 

Donghyuk’s reedy little purr had started again, making Johnny’s hair lay flat again. Jaehyun hummed along, softly singing the beginning of an anime. 

Johnny huffed a little, the paper on the table crinkling a bit. He stuck a finger in between his collar and the skin of his neck, before withdrawing it. 

Jaehyun had a collar. It was red leather, with a tag on the front of it that had Taeil’s number and Jaehyun’s information. Jaehyun also had a microchip under the skin of his wrist, to help him if he got lost and couldn’t remember Taeil’s information. 

Johnny had a collar too, but probably not a microchip. The big cat’s collar was metal, and looked like it was welded shut. 

Jaehyun shivered at the thought of wearing a collar all the time. Taeil only made him put it on if they were going out into the city more than two subway stops away from the clinic or the house.

Hopefully Taeil would be back soon to get Johnny’s collar off. It looked uncomfortable. 

  
  


Taeil opened the door carefully, making sure not to startle the group of hybrids squished onto the exam table. 

“Hi there.” Taeil called softly, making Jaehyun’s ears prick up a little. “We’re ready to get started, if that’s alright with you.” 

Johnny was blinking still, ears swiveling around, trying to take everything in. 

One of the interns placed the wire cutter box on the counter, and hurried out the door, leaving just Yuta, Taeil and Sicheng. 

“Johnny?” Taeil asked again, getting the big cat’s attention. “Is it okay if we start with you?” 

The cat frowned, and opened his mouth to speak, but his voice was lost to a rasp. He cleared his throat and tried again. 

“Others first.” 

Taeil hummed, and sat down in the swivel chair, gesturing for Sicheng and Yuta to sit down too. 

The little room was going to be packed once they were up and working, but for now, with everyone sitting, it was cozy and nice. 

“I would like to do you first, just because that gives Grey here, and kitten to warm up a bit. You’re conscious and talking, and you look comfortable enough, which would make things go faster.” 

Johnny resolutely shook his head. 

“Donghyuk first, then Taeyong, then me.” He growled, and Taeil nodded. 

“That’s fine. We’re going to need to touch him to make sure he’s healthy, would you prefer to be scooted around a bit, so you can hold him, or Jaehyun?” 

At that, Johnny glanced around, seeming to realize that there were two other humans in the room with him. 

His ears went back, and a rumble built up in his chest, but Jaehyun huffed, and his tail started to thump again. 

“It’s okay. Sichengie hyungie is a doctor for little kids, and Yuta hyungie is a super good doctor too. He’s Tennie’s owner, and he’s got two little puppies and a kitten too. Jeno’s a good puppy but he’s bitey.” Jaehyun whispered, loud enough for Yuta to smile, and Sicheng to chuckle. 

“And Sichengie hyung has a kitten named Mark. He’s super soft and chill, much more chill than Ten, but I can’t roughhouse with Mark cuz he’s still delicate.” 

Johnny finally sighed, and let his hackles lower. After a few moments of shifting around, the little kitten was in his lap, and Taeyong, the grey cat, Taeil was guessing, was propped up in Jaehyun’s lap, drooling on Jaehyun’s shoulder. 

Donghyuk rubbed blearily at his eyes, and then whined at the bright fluorescent lights of the room. 

Sicheng cooed sympathetically, and stepped a little closer to Johnny, letting Taeil and Yuta stay back. 

Johnny didn’t look comfortable, but he let Sicheng check Donghyuk’s heart, and then his spleen and kidneys. 

Sicheng frowned at the collar when he checked Donghyuk’s lungs, and then put the stethoscope away. He probably wasn’t able to get an accurate listen with the collar restricting the kitten’s breathing and swallowing. 

Donghyuk hissed at him when Sicheng drew out the light to check in his ears, but Johnny started to purr, making the kitten relax a little. 

“You have very good ears kitten.” Sicheng informed Donghyuk seriously. “They work perfectly, and there’s no sign of scar tissue or damage.” 

At that, Donghyuk peeked his head out from Johnny’s chest, looking at Sicheng with big eyes. 

“I do?” He asked, relaxing a little more. 

Sicheng nodded, and tapped his little flashlight microscope. 

“They’re amazing. I have to check your eyes now, because if your ears are so perfect, then your eyes probably are too.” 

Donghyuk looked briefly up at Johnny, grinning as if to say  _ “Dad look!”  _

Johnny smiled crookedly down at Donghyuk before gesturing for him to listen to Sicheng again. 

Sicheng held up the instrument he was going to use, and clicked its light on and off to show Donghyuk. 

“I have to shine a really bright light in your eyes, and it might be a little hard to keep them open, but I’m sure you’ll do excellently, you seem like a very big boy.” 

Donghyuk processed the words, and then nodded eagerly. 

Taeil smiled softly. He worked with kittens and puppies every now and then, but it was less often these days due to his pediatrics staff. Sicheng was so excellent with babies and kids, it made Taeil a little jealous. When Jaehyun had first come to them, he was scared and skittish, and Sicheng had been the one to crack through that bubble first, even if Jaehyun absolutely imprinted on Taeil like a duckling. 

Speaking about Jaehyun, he was tucked behind Johnny’s broad shoulders, holding onto Taeyong the grey cat. 

He looked absolutely enamoured, petting Taeyong’s grey ears very gently. That was the thing with Jaehyun, he was gentle. Some of the other hybrid dogs they got in the clinic weren’t gentle, but Taeil thought it had a little to do with the fact that golden retrievers were gentle dogs. 

Taeil had even seen somewhere that if you gave an actual golden retriever an egg to carry in their mouths, it wouldn’t break because of how gently they could carry it. 

Jaheyun broke eggs all the time, forgetting them on the counter when he cooked, or carrying too many at once, but he had that golden retriever gentleness. Maybe after the cats were released from quarantine, they would want to come stay in Taeil’s house. They certainly had the space, due to Taeil’s necessity of a big backyard for Jaehyun, so it wouldn’t be hard to integrate the cat family into their lives. 

Sicheng finished with the kitten, and then crouched down a little to get a closer look at the collar that encircled the kitten’s neck. 

“Is this uncomfortable?” He asked, tapping his own neck. “Can you take a super duper deep breath for me?” 

Donghyuk took a deep breath, but wheezed a little, and Sicheng frowned. 

“We’re gonna get that off of you, okay? It might be a little scary, because I’m gonna have to have Dad help, and one of my doctor friends here, but once it’s off, you’ll be able to breathe, and swallow properly, okay?” Sicheng told the kitten, gesturing for the box, and then Taeil, who had smaller hands than Yuta. 

“Okay dad, can you hold his head here, so he doesn’t move?” Sicheng asked, moving Johnny’s hand up to Donghyuk’s forehead, “And keep the other arm wrapped around him.” 

Johnny cooperated, and Donghyuk frowned, wiggling a little. 

“It’s gonna be okay, alright honey?” Sicheng told Donghyuk as he wedged a pinky under the collar. “If it’s too scary, let us know okay?” 

Taeil stepped forward with the box, and Sicheng rummaged around for a medium wire cutter tool. 

“Okay. Taeil, I need you to keep the collar away from his neck, and I’m gonna see if this one will get through it. 

The band of metal around Donghyuk’s neck had a little loop for an attachment on it, and it was about the width of one of Taeil’s fingers. 

Taeil carefully pet Donghyuk’s ears before putting a few fingers under the collar. 

Donghyuk wheezed a little, and his ears flew flat against his head, but he stayed still. 

“Okay. I’m gonna make the first snip now, we’re gonna have to cut it from the back too, so we can take it off.” 

Sicheng squeezed down on the cutters, and the  _ shink _ of the metal being cut in two made Donghyuk flinch hard. 

Sicheng had to squeeze once more to get a better cut through, and then he was grinning at Johnny. 

“That was so great!” 

Taeil quickly put a piece of gauze around the sharp edges so that Donghyuk wouldn’t be hurt while they were pulling on the collar at the back of his neck. 

Johnny let out a breath, and maneuvered Donghyuk around so that Sicheng could make the second cut. 

As soon as the second cut was made, the collar was sagging, and clinking down onto the floor. 

Johnny’s hands rubbed up and down Donghyuk’s back, and he purred viciously, as Donghyuk started to cry. 

“Oh, poor lamb.” Sicheng cooed, petting Donghyuk’s ears, and running a hand over the pale skin that the collar had left behind. “It’s a little overwhelming, huh?” 

Since Donghyuk was so little, the skin would eventually be the same color as the rest, and no scarring would occur. 

Sicheng fished a hybrid safe sucker out of his lab coat pocket, and offered it to the kitten, who was hiccuping against Johnny’s chest. 

“I’ve got grape too, but no one really seems to like grape that much.” He said gently as Donghyuk snatched the cherry candy, and unwrapped it. 

Johnny looked dazed, but it was probably relief. 

Taeil leaned down to snag the two pieces of the collar, and examined them. 

It was small, and Taeil frowned as he ran his finger over the spot where it had been sautered closed. 

“Is he okay now?” A voice startled all three doctors. 

Johnny was looking a little concerned as Donghyuk sucked on the lollipop. 

Sicheng smiled warmly at him though. 

“He’s fine. A little underweight, but that’s to be expected. There’s no permanent damage from the collar, besides a little bit of pale skin for a few months. It would have caused it as he got bigger, due to the rigidity of the collar, but we got it off before that could happen.” 

Johnny sighed, and nodded. 

Taeil stepped up now, because Sicheng didn’t really deal with adult hybrids. 

“Johnny, I know we talked about having Taeyong go before you, but I think we should do Taeyong last, if that’s okay with you.” 

Johnny blinked at him, and then frowned, shaking his head. 

“No. He’s before me.” 

Taeil sighed. 

“Listen. What’s on his face is probably going to take us a while to get off, and I want to get you done before we start on that. Please?” 

Jaehyun’s tail thumped against Johnny’s arm, while the cat frowned still. 

“You’ll get done with me fast?” 

For the first time, Taeil heard a slight accent on Johnny’s words, and he smiled. 

“We’ll just do a few preliminary things, and then once you all are settled, we’ll do a few more extensive tests.” 

There was a brief staring contest, and Taeil tried to seem unthreatening. Whatever bullshit was attached to that poor grey cat would be hell to get off, and Taeil wanted to make sure that everyone else that he could attend to was checked over before that happened. 

Finally, Johnny sighed. 

“Fast.” He growled. 

Taeil went to work. It felt a little like when Jungwoo had come to the office, scared of anything that moved, and scared cats reacted with violence. 

He made sure that Johnny could see his hands, and he explained what he was doing in a soft voice. 

He listened to Johnny’s heart, and pressed a hand to Johnny’s abdomen to check his kidneys, and then he asked Johnny to take the hoodie he was wearing off. 

Donghyuk had a collar, and Taeyong had that  _ thing _ , so Johnny likely had one too. 

The ratty t-shirt underneath the hoodie was old and worn, but Taeil could see that it was comfy and soft. 

Sure enough, there was a thick collar made of leather and metal. 

It looked like a regular bdsm collar, but inside the leather, Taeil could see a metal core. 

“It’s leather with metal inside.” Johnny swallowed, the motion making the collar move a little. “I tried to get at it with a knife, thinking it was just leather, but it’s not.” 

There were scratch marks and a few thin scars around the edges of the inch wide collar, and Taeil hummed. 

“Yuta, get me the small wire cutters.” He asked, and held his hand out. 

With the cutters, Taeil snipped at the leather to expose the metal, one spot in the front, and the other in the back, like they had done for Donghyuk. 

The metal was wider than Donghyuk’s collar, so Taeil swapped up to the strong wire cutters cutters. 

Johnny held the collar out from his neck as Taeil worked at it. 

It took longer than Donghyuk’s, because of the awkward angle, and because he had to break the collar. 

Taeil cut into it from the top and then the bottom, and then snapped the tiny piece left. 

Johnny grimaced through the entire thing, but the pieces were finally being bent away, and the collar was on the counter. 

Johnny took the first deep breath likely in years, and looked at Taeil with wide eyes. 

“Do you need a lollipop too?” Sicheng asked. “You sat stiller than kitten did.” 

Johnny looked a little shocked as he accepted the sucker from Sicheng, and as Taeil’s fingers skated over the band of pale skin. 

There were a few scars, and a few raw patches from friction, but other than that, Johnny was lucky. 

Taeil’d seen too many horrible collar removals, and he often did them himself, but Johnny’s was tame. 

Doyoung had yowled through his collar removal, and Seonghwa still had scars from where Jungwoo had bitten him, but if Taeil had to guess, Taeyong’s was going to be pretty extreme. 

Hopefully it wouldn’t be too bad. 

Taeil listened to Johnny’s lungs briefly, before gesturing for the four hybrids on the table to shift around. 

Johnny ended up with Taeyong sitting up in his lap, blinking groggily. 

“Hi there.” Taeil cooed, stepping back a bit. “I’m Doctor Moon, you were asleep earlier so I didn’t get the chance to introduce myself.” 

Taeyong’s ears twitched, making the little loops punched through them jingle. 

“We’re gonna give you a basic checkup, and then we’re gonna get that nasty looking thing off of you, is that okay?” 

Taeyong just stared at him, eyes wide. 

There was a little bit of blood crusted on the part of the muzzle that rested on his nose, and Taeil winced internally. 

“It’s okay.” Johnny whispered. “They took Duck’s off, and mine too. It’s okay, I think they’re real doctors.” 

“We are real doctors.” Taeil announced, smoothing his lab coat out a little. “And I’m sure that all that metal hurts, we’d be happy to remove it for you.” 

Jaehyun’s arm snuck around to hold Taeyong’s hand, his fluffy tail thumping against Johnny and the wall. 

“That’s Taeillie hyung, and Yuta hyungie, and Sichengie hyung.” He added, “Sichengie is a baby doctor, and he said Duckie had perfect ears.” 

There was a “Yeah momma!” from Donghyuk, and Taeyong blinked at Taeil. 

“It’s okay?” He asked Johnny hesitantly, shuddering a little. 

Johnny nodded, and rubbed Taeyong’s arms. 

“Are you cold?” Yuta asked, leaning against the counter. “We can get you a blanket.” 

Taeyong looked up at Johnny, who nodded hesitantly. 

Yuta hustled out of the room, and Taeil stepped closer to Taeyong and Johnny. 

“I’m worried about your weight.” He said carefully, holding out his hand. Taeyong let Taeil point out how thin his wrists were. “But we’ll take care of that.” 

“I tried to cut it open, so he could eat,” Johnny rumbled, his purr much much deeper now that the collar was gone. “But I broke the scissors I stole.” 

Taeil frowned and nodded. 

“We don’t have to start until Dr. Nakamoto gets back with the blanket, but what I’m gonna start with is just a quick listen to your heart, and then check a few internal organs. Then we’ll think about getting that thing off.” 

Taeyong nodded, and relaxed into Johnny, clearly still tired. Taeil didn’t blame him, getting warmed up from near freezing took a lot of energy.

Yuta returned a few moments later with a blanket with winnie the pooh characters on it. 

“Is that the shock blankie?” Sicheng asked, and Yuta grinned. 

“It is. It was back in the box after Jungwoo, so here we are. It’s been washed too.” 

Johnny accepted it from Yuta, and draped it over Taeyong’s shoulders. 

Taeil smiled, and drew out his stethoscope. 

“Let’s get started then.” 

Taeyong’s heart and organs were good, Taeil didn’t like how thin he was, but now that the preliminary things were out of the way, they could focus on the collar and muzzle. 

“Here, Yuta, I need another pair of hands.” Taeil called, and Taeyong swallowed. 

Yuta stepped in, looked at Taeyong for a confirmation, and then leaned in a little closer. 

“Jesus.” He whistled. “That’s a nasty piece of work.” 

Taeil nodded, and pointed down to where there were pieces that connected to a collar like Johnny’s, and then up to where it was clipped to Taeyong’s ears. 

“Does it go all around his head?” Yuta asked, and Taeil nodded, grimacing. 

“Can you turn your head much honey?” He asked Taeyong, who demonstrated that he couldn’t turn his head very much, about 45 degrees on each side. 

“And then this bridge piece,” Yuta huffed, tapping the bridge of his own nose. “It might be infected? From what I can see.” 

Taeil hummed, and held his hands up so Taeyong could see what he was doing. 

Taeyong held still, but his eyes crossed trying to keep Taeil’s hands in his line of vision. 

Taeil moved the metal a bit over Taeyong’s nose, and hummed. 

“It might be. I can’t tell yet, we’d need to get it off.” 

Johnny pet Taeyong’s arms over the blanket, and Taeyong purred nervously. 

“Once it’s off dear, we’re probably going to have to buzz your hair up to the base of your ears. There’s sores around where it loops around your head, and we want to be able to see those clearly.” 

Taeyong nodded, and flicked his ears around a little. 

Taeil turned to Yuta and grimaced. 

“Let’s get the collar off first. The connecting pieces look thin enough.” 

Taeyong’s actual collar came off just like Johnny’s. It was even a little easier because it was looser on Taeyong, probably due to how thin Taeyong was. 

They clipped the thin connector pieces as short as they could, and then covered them up with bandaids so that the sharp metal didn’t cut Taeyong while they were still working. 

There were more scars around Taeyong’s neck than Johnny’s, and it looked like Taeyong had scratched hard at the skin under the collar. 

“Okay, you did so well for that part.” Taeil cooed, petting Taeyong’s ears. “We’re gonna get a few of these sore spots bandaged up, and then we’ll move up to your ears.” 

Taeyong nodded, and Yuta returned with the antiseptic and a few bandages and gauze.

Taeil watched the grey cat flinch a few times before his neck was bandaged up properly, but he got a few more ear pets in reward for being good and sitting still. 

Sicheng had gone and returned with a snack box that looked suspiciously like Marks, and was passing Jaehyun and Donghyuk apple slices and bits of triscuits. Every now and then, Jaehyun passed one up to Johnny, but Taeyong couldn’t have any until the muzzle was off. 

The rings in Taeyong’s ears were harder to remove, because they were so small, and Taeil was worried about nicking one of Taeyong’s delicate ears, but after another ten minutes of gentle working, they were on the counter next to the pieces of the collar. 

The metal piece that ran on Taeyong’s hair part was harder, and Taeil could see where it had rubbed the hair on Taeyong’s head off. 

To get at that, it was very uncomfortable. Taeil had to stand on one of the patient chairs, so he could see the top of Taeyong’s head, and Yuta was trying to keep the metal from biting into Taeyong’s jaw and cheeks as Taeil tried to lift it enough to cut it. 

They couldn’t just lift the muzzle upwards off of Taeyong after cutting the back like they had done with the collar, because of the pieces that went under Taeyong’s jaw, and the matted hair around the metal straps. 

Taeyong squeaked uncomfortably as Taeil lifted the muzzle a little so he could get the wire cutters under it. 

He just couldn’t get enough space to slip the bottom blade of the cutters under the wire, and he let it go with a huff. 

“We’re gonna have to try something else.” He groaned, stepping off the chair. “That’s the thinnest set of wire cutters we have, and I don’t want to risk cutting into kitty’s scalp.” 

Yuta nodded, and frowned, inspecting the muzzle. 

“I just want it off.” Taeyong whispered, drawing their attention. “It’s okay if you cut me.” 

At that, Taeil shook his head. 

“We’re not gonna do that.” He announced, Johnny nodding along. 

“It would be okay-” Taeyong tried again, but Johnny huffed at him. 

“We’ll find a different way, okay?” Taeil said, and Taeyong nodded reluctantly. 

The doctors stepped back, and studied the apparatus. 

“What if we got some of the dental tools from my office?” Yuta finally asked. “I could get a grinder, and we could grind through it.” 

Taeil hummed, and Jaehyun’s tail stopped wagging. Taeil grimaced, remembering how much Jaehyun hated the dental tools, and getting his teeth checked out. 

“It’s worth a shot. I can’t get at it with the wire cutters, and the top piece needs to come off if we want to pull it forward to get it off.” 

Yuta nodded, and straightened up. 

“I’ll go get my tools then!” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oof. The kitties are safe, but Taeyong's damn muzzle is just causing more problems!   
> Alright, like I said up top, it's been a while, and a lot of shit's happened.   
> So yeah, I'll talk a little bit more down below, but for now, this chapter is for AssassinElf15, najaeminstars, Q, FroggoGreen, Shadownightes, Ellie_baby04, Wol, SkeletalToucan, ringpopbrat, matchmakers, Princess_Baek_x, Annonymouskeeper, and catrabbitferret! 
> 
> Well! So the apocalypse is still happening. I'm at home, not really going out (you should also not really be going out) and doing hella online school. It sucks right now because I thrive with a solid schedule, and now I don't have that because I'm lazy and don't wanna make one for myself. But I'll get in the hang of it eventually.   
> My situation is pretty good, my mom, sister and I have been making face masks, and mine's got Steamboat the horse on it cuz school pride, and I've been writing a lot!   
> Mostly just little spooky things, because I'm in the spooky mood, two of those are NCT, one is Stray Kids, and two are Ateez, if you're interested.   
> I can't hang out here for long, because I'm getting up early tomorrow morning to livestream our church's easter service with my family. We're gonna get dressed up and everything, make a morning out of it you kno.   
> Anyways, I hope you guys are doing well, and staying safe! Please wash your hands a lot and social distance!   
> Drop a Kudos or a comment if you feel inclined!   
> find me on insta @that_is_shocking if you wanna chat,   
> and if you want updates on when chapters go up, find me on tumblr @that-is-shocking  
> Lots and lots of love, stay safe!!!!!   
> Alex <3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3


	10. 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Last chapter!!!! Don't worry, I'm going to be writing more for this universe, this is just the end of the first part of it!!!!
> 
> This chapter is for Princess_Baek_x, najaeminstars, nyxknox, matchmakers, REBELREDRM, SecretKFan97, FroggoGreen, AssassinElf15, Miss_M_Niven, catrabbitferret, ringpopbrat, Anonymouskeeper, cyxpher, johnyongist, and Intricate6!

While Yuta was off on a different floor collecting his dentist’s tools, Taeil carefully pushed gauze under the metal of Taeyong’s muzzle. 

He wanted to get under it with antiseptic, but for now, he just wanted to get a little padding. Taeyong was skinny, and there wasn’t much fat in his cheeks to protect him. 

All the while, Taeil hummed, and carefully felt around for anything that he should be worried about. 

All the kitties were going to get a full checkup, Jaehyun, Jungkook, Lucas and Yunho too, who knows if there was something that was passed from the cats to the dogs. Taeil hadn’t seen fleas on any of the three, but they were going to do much more thorough checks once the cats were comfortable. 

Taeyong let him feel around his mask with an air of grace only cats had. Sure the grey kitty must have been scared, but he let Taeil check him over. 

Sicheng had poked his head back in to let Taeil know he was taking Mark and the littles home for the day, and that he’d see him tomorrow. 

Mark had looked at Taeyong with wide eyes, and given him a wave. 

Taeyong had stared back, eyes equally wide, and waved back. 

Mark had squealed after that and booked it. 

It was a cute interaction to watch, and it had made Taeil smile. Yuta hadn’t shown back up yet, but he was probably trying to get everything onto a portable cart to bring down to the clinic. They weren’t going to take any of the cats anywhere, just in case they did have something that was transmittable. Plus, the dentist was no one's favorite place, and taking them down there might spook the kitty family. 

They’d obviously have to go down eventually, to get their teeth checked over, but that was a later date, after they were cleared and out from quarantine. 

Taeil had asked one of the interns to email Jungkook’s owner, Seonghwa and Xiaojun to keep their hybrids home until Taeil had cleared the cats too. 

Jaehyun wasn’t going to be happy, but he was probably going to whine his way into the quarantine rooms, instead of being cooped up at home. He seemed to be really really attached to the cats. Hopefully they would want to live with Taeil after this was all sorted, Jaehyun would definitely be okay with them going to someone else, but Taeil wanted to fill up their empty house anyways. 

“You’re doing a very good job.” He hummed to Taeyong as Taeyong winced a little bit, there was definitely damage on the bridge of his nose, and the gauze probably disturbed something trying it’s very best to heal. 

“Hurts.” Was all Taeyon muttered back. 

Johnny rumbled at him, and rubbed his hands up and down Taeyong’s arms. 

Taeil gave his ears a gentle scratch, and then stood up. Everywhere he could get gauze under had a little piece of white gauze, and Taeil sighed. 

“I’m sorry it hurts honey. As soon as we get this off, you can have something to eat, and we’ll take you up to our outpatient rooms.” 

Taeyong nodded, and crossed his eyes, trying to look at the little bit of gauze under the muzzle at the bridge of his nose. 

“How are you feeling Johnny?” Taeil asked, looking up at the big cat. 

Johnny blinked at him, and then yawned. 

“‘M tired.” He hummed, resting his chin on Taeyong’s shoulder. 

Taeil cooed at him, and reached up to scratch his ears. 

They were probably going to have to buzz his hair too. It was a little matted around the base of his ears. 

“Jae?” Taeil called next, patting the golden retriever’s leg. 

“I’m doing good hyungie!” Jaehyun announced, his tail thumping. “Duckie’s asleep though.” 

Taeil grinned, and stepped back a little. 

Just then, Yuta returned, trailed by Xiaojun. 

“I had to bring my intern, I needed a cord carrier, and Tennie didn’t want to stick around the dental tools.” He announced, wheeling a little cart in, followed by a handsome intern carrying cords for the tools and the cart. 

“We need to get hooked up to water, because I’m not gonna grind through any metal without water, but the hose extension Xiao here brought should just connect to the sink here.” 

Xiaojun clearly was eyeing Taeyong’s muzzle, but he kept his mouth shut and hooked up all the plugs, and then the hose to the sink. 

“Dr. Nakamoto,” Xiaojun asked, as soon as all that was set up. “Did you want me to bring up a few extra head pieces? I have a feeling that you’ll grind through a few of them.” 

Yuta nodded, and waved the kid off. 

“If you would please.” 

“Xiaojun, make sure to check your email when you get back downstairs.” Taeil called after the young man heading out the door. 

Yuta pulled a big towel out from one of the shelves on the cart, and stepped carefully towards Taeyong. 

“We’re going to be using water, so if you would like, could you wrap this around your neck, like a scarf?” 

Taeyong looked at the black towel, and then at Taeil, who tried to look as reassuring as he could. 

Yuta passed the towel over as soon as Taeyong nodded. 

“When Xiaojun gets back up here, I’m gonna have him ask Chaeryong to head up so we can get these mats cut out.” Yuta announced, and smiled at Taeyong and Johnny. 

“Okay, I’m gonna turn this on, and it’s gonna make a loudish sound, that might be a little scary.” 

Taeil grimaced, and patted Jaehyun’s leg again, seeing that the hybrid had gone a little stiff. 

His hand had snaked back into Taeyong’s though, and Taeil relaxed a little. 

“If you want me to turn it off at any time, just let me know.” Yuta continued, letting Taeyong hold the tool. “I’m gonna turn it on just to show you how loud the sound will be.” 

Taking it back, he switched it on, and the hybrids all seemed to flinch at the weird buzz it made. 

Yuta let Taeyong hold it again, the tool vibrating slightly as it buzzed. 

Slowly, Taeyong relaxed, and Johnny hugged him closer into his chest. 

Yuta smiled, and took the tool back again. 

“It’s not too bad, right?” 

Taeyong shrugged, and Taeil counted that as a victory. 

Yuta gestured for Taeil to step up, and scooped up a little water pick. 

“This is just for water.” He told Taeyong, letting a little water spray out onto a little funnel in the cart. “It doesn’t make sound.” 

Then, he turned to Taeil. 

“We need to get his hair wet around the strip. I don’t want it to get spun up on the head of the tool.”

Taeil nodded, and let Yuta start with the water pick while he held a little hand towel up to Taeyong’s forehead so the water wouldn’t go down his face. 

Taeyong still shivered a little as the water wet his tangled grey hair. Yuta smoothed it down away from the strip of metal, and then he stepped down and put the water pick back in its place. 

Xiaojun took a moment to stick his head in the door to pass off the extra tool heads. 

Taeyong looked a little put out by the water, so as Yuta talked to the Oral Surgery Intern, he dried off Taeyong’s neck, and pet his soggy ears a little. 

“Doing alright?” He asked softly, as Taeyong’s eyes closed a little, pushing his head into Taeil’s hand. 

Taeyong hummed and nodded, before the door was closing and Yuta was stepping back up to the chair and the bench. 

“Alright. I’m gonna get started, if you need to stop, tell us. Dr. Moon is going to be up here with me with the water, so we’re not going to be able to see your face.” 

Taeyong nodded, and Taeil dragged another chair over so he could be above Taeyong’s head. 

Yuta passed him the water pick after demonstrating how it worked. Then the pair got to work. 

It was slow, grinding carefully through the metal strip on Taeyong’s scalp. 

Taeyong’s ears were fully back, trying to keep water out of them, and Johnny’s hands were steadily rubbing up and down his arms. 

Taeil could see Jaehyun had his eyes scrunched closed, and Donghyuk was still sucking on the sucker, even in his sleep. 

The kitten didn’t even seem bothered by the weird buzz the grinder made, which was good. 

After a while, Taeil had the water in one hand, and another hand had fingers jammed under the strip of metal, keeping it away from Taeyong’s scalp as Yuta finished cutting through the metal. 

There was a weird snapping sound, and then the first cut was done. They had to get this piece separated from the whole contraption, so they could pull the muzzle off Taeyong’s face by pulling it forward. 

They took a break, and Taeil put gauze around the new sharp edge. The gauze would get wet, but it would still protect Taeyong, Taeil and Yuta’s skin from the sharp edge. 

Yuta instructed Taeyong to tilt his head forward so he could get to the piece around the back of Taeyong’s head, and Taeil shook his hands out a little. 

They switched out the towel for a dry one, and then they started again. 

The back piece took longer. They had to stop a lot to push hair away from the metal, but eventually it was thin enough that Yuta could bend it back and break it away. 

“There we go. Finished with these loud things.” Yuta announced, putting the metal in the pile of pieces from Taeyong’s collar and muzzle. 

Taeyong visibly relaxed and then shook his head, trying to dry off a little. 

No cat liked falling water, or being wet, and Taeil grimaced sympathetically. 

“We’re getting there.” He reassured Taeyong, drying his hair as much as he could with the hand towel. “We just have a few more bits to get off, and then we can get moving with hair cuts, food, and sleep.” 

Taeyong nodded, and at the mention of sleep, Johnny yawned. 

Jaehyun’s tail had begun wagging now that the dental tools were out of the picture, and Taeil took a moment to pet his ears too. 

“How you doing buddy?” He asked as Jaehyun’s tail thumped harder. “Need anything?” 

Jaehyun’s eyes closed happily, and he hummed. 

“I’m good hyungie.” 

Taeil pressed his forehead to Jaehyun’s own, and then stepped back up to the front. 

“Are we ready to use the wire cutters again?” He asked Yuta, who was undoing the hose and a few of the cords. 

Yuta looked up at him and nodded, before pushing the cart out of the way. 

It was time to get that damn muzzle off. 

Taeyong was crying just like Donghyuk when Taeil pulled the muzzle off. 

Johnny had him in a death grip, and Taeil cooed at him. 

The cat had big expressive eyes, and a gorgeous face now that there was no metal in the way. 

“Not infected.” Yuta breathed happily, tapping his own face. “Thank god.” 

Taeil nodded, and let Yuta step out of the way so Taeil could begin to get bandages on Taeyong’s cheekbones, and forehead. 

He wiped Taeyong’s tears carefully, while keeping up a steady stream of “Good job honey, you did so well.” 

As soon as Taeyong’s face and neck was bandaged, Taeil was pressing a stethoscope to his lungs and telling Taeyong to take a deep breath. 

That just prompted more crying because Taeyong probably hadn’t taken a deep breath for over two years. 

Taeil looked up at Taeyong and grinned. 

“Your lungs sound healthy.” He informed the grey cat, and an also crying Johnny, leaning over Taeyong’s shoulder. “Everything sounds good.” 

Taeyong hiccuped, and nodded. 

Yuta ran a hand over Taeyong’s ears, before going out to call Chaeryong in. 

She was happy to go slowly and let Taeyong and Johnny get used to the sound of the clippers before she finally trimmed their hair. 

Johnny’s was decent length. Just short enough to have gotten the mats out of his hair, but Taeyong’s had to be cut rather short so that Taeil could get to the wounds on his scalp. 

He looked very unhappy to have lost the grey fur, but Taeil assured him that he would find him a hybrid hat to wear soon. 

“Let’s get you guys settled in an outpatient room then.” Taeil announced as soon as Chaeryong had disappeared, probably headed home now. It was lovely of her to stay after, and Taeil would have to mark that in her file for when employee reviews came around in a few months. 

“We get to go to sleep now?” Johnny asked, ears flicking around a lot, probably getting used to his shorter hair, but still very sleepy looking. 

Taeil nodded, and gathered up his files for the trio so far. 

“We’re gonna have to head up a few floors, but after that, we’ll be in the quarantine wing, and you’ll get a bedroom, and something to eat.” 

Taeyong’s legs were a little unsteady as he pushed himself out of Johnny’s lap to stand. 

Johnny followed suit, and Jaehyun hopped off after them. 

Donghyuk was awake, and still happily sucking on the sucker that Sicheng had given him. Johnny had chewed his up a long time ago. 

“If you would follow me,” Taeil instructed, stretching as he too stood up from his chair. “I’ll get you settled in.” 

The trio followed him out the door, and Yuta fell in behind them so that no one would get separated and lost. 

Taeil waved to the clinic’s new shift staff, and then led the group to the elevator bank. 

Jaehyun had yawned, but had regained some energy, and was eagerly whispering about the center to Johnny, who was leaning on him a little bit. 

“The quarantine wing is just below the first level of offices, and Taeillie hyung’s office is on that floor! There’s also the baby center on that floor. It has a name that starts with an M but I don’t remember it.” 

Taeyong was sticking close to Taeil though, looking around cautiously, tail swishing. 

The elevators dinged, and Taeil stepped inside, followed by his grey shadow, and then Johnny, Jaehyun and Yuta. 

“If there’s an emergency and you can’t reach anyone on the phones,” Taeil said, gesturing to the buttons. “The clinic is twenty four hour service, and you just push number two. Whoever is at the front desk will recognize you, and get you help.” 

Taeyong nodded, but Johnny was too busy listening to Jaehyun. Taeil sighed in mock frustration. 

Taeyong looked at him curiously, but grinned tentatively when Taeil smiled at him. 

“You were very brave today.” Taeil said softly. “I’ve said it a lot already, but you did a very good job staying still.” 

Taeyong’s cheeks colored, and Taeil hummed. 

Taeyong looked around for a moment, obviously trying to decide something, before quickly butting his cheek up against Taeil’s shoulder. 

Taeil smiled as the cat blushed harder and tried to pretend like nothing had happened. 

Jaehyun and Johnny hadn’t noticed it, too engaged in whatever they were talking about, but Yuta gave Taeil a thumbs up. 

The elevator doors opened, and Taeil led the group into the clinic’s outpatient area, and then through a door marked “QUARANTINE, PLEASE BE AWARE”. 

“There’s no one else in here right now.” Taeil hummed, opening the first door. “I think the last person we needed to have in quarantine was Jungwoo, and that was a little bit ago.” 

Jaehyun looked sour at the mention of Jungwoo’s name. 

“I haven’t gotten to see kitty since then.” He pouted, and Yuta rolled his eyes. “Jungwoo tried to scratch your eyeballs out the last time you saw him Jae.” 

Jaehyun just pouted even more. “I know! But I’m sure we could be friends!” 

“Who’s Jungwoo?” Taeyong whispered as Taeil let them into the room, turning the lights on, and surveying the area. 

“He’s a kitty that was brought in from a really bad place. He’s got a good owner now though, Jaehyun just tended to get in his space and he didn’t like that.” 

Taeyong nodded, and Johnny flopped down onto the bed. 

Taeil hummed, and opened the door to the bathroom. 

“The bathroom has a tub, I know falling water can be a little scary, but if you do end up taking a bath, just be careful of your bandaids!” 

Taeyong nodded glanced down at his still dirty and now a little damp clothes. 

Yuta returned with a set of hospital clothes for each of them. He put a pair of socks down, and then a robe for Taeyong and Johnny. 

He also put down two pairs of boxers and grinned sheepishly at Johnny who was watching him from the bed. 

“These should fit, but if they don’t, I can get you some new ones.” 

Johnny yawned and sat up, ears rotating like satellite dishes. 

“They’ll be fine.” He hummed, picking through the pile to find the pale blue pajama set for Donghyuk, and little itty bitty socks. 

Taeyong cooed at the small socks, and Jaehyun set Donghyuk down on the bed. 

Taeil sighed, and ran a hand through his hair. 

Going home was going to be cold. 

“Jae, you gotta say bye for now.” 

Johnny looked alarmed at the fact that Jaehyun was leaving, and Jaehyun’s tail stopped wagging. 

Taeil huffed at the reaction. “Unless kitties say you can stay for now. You’d have to stay in quarantine too until we get them all checked off on their vaccinations and stuff.” 

“Can I stay Johnny hyung?” Jaehyun asked, pouting. 

Johnny relaxed and dragged Jaehyun forward. 

“Yes.” He huffed, petting Jaehyun’s ears. 

Taeil grinned as Yuta headed out to get Jaehyun something to change into too.

Jaehyun’s tail was wagging violently, and Taeyong’s eyes followed it interestedly until Taeil laughed. 

Taeyong watched him as he stepped up to press a kiss onto Jaehyun’s forehead. 

“Be good puppy. I’ll be back tomorrow to take everyone for more detailed checkups.” He murmured. 

“I’ll be good hyung.” Jaehyun chirped, rubbing his head on Jaehyun’s chest. “Super duper good!” 

Taeil laughed, and Yuta returned with clothes. 

“I’m gonna use the shower in the basement, and then I’m gonna collect my herd and head out.” Yuta announced, rolling his shoulders. “Ten’s probably pissed off we missed Ninja Warrior.” 

Taeil laughed and waved him off. Yuta saluted him and stalked out the door and down the hallway. 

“Jae, I’m heading out too. Call me if you need anything, okay?” 

Jaehyun just nodded. He wasn’t paying any attention to Taeil anymore, Donghyuk was awake and talking to him about socks. 

Taeil smiled, and made his way to the door. 

“Bye hyung.” Taeyong’s soft voice called, and Taeil looked up. He looked much different with his short short hair, and the bandaids all over his face, but he looked relaxed. 

“Bye Taeyong, bye Johnny. I’ll be back tomorrow.” 

Taeyong nodded, and turned away. 

Taeil finally stepped out of the door, and sighed. It closed with a soft click, and he scrubbed a hand over his face. 

He was going to have to stop at the store. The snow had stopped a little, it was mostly just windy now. 

He had to go home and take a shower, and then go to sleep. He was going to make it to the store tomorrow before he came in, so he could get some things for the cats, and get started on their files, and what he needed to have done. 

Inside the room, Jaehyun and Donghyuk chittered to each other, discussing the merits of colors. 

Taeyong leaned into Johnny, and Johnny hummed, tail coming up to circle around Taeyong’s arm. 

Johnny happily brushed a thumb over Taeyong’s cheekbone, something he couldn’t do for so long. 

“Go to sleep for now love.” He whispered, a gentle rumble coming from his chest. “I’ll get Donghyuk in the bath, and then I’ll wake you to get cleaned up.” 

Taeyong hummed, and closed his eyes. 

“Love you to the moon.” Taeyong huffed, and Johnny chuckled. Johnny kissed his jaw and then his nose. 

“Love you to the moon and back.” 

Then, Taeyong was asleep, drifting happily into a warm dreamland. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> well, I can't stay long. I know I told a lot of you that this one would be out by the end of the week, and now it's monday of the next week, and I am sorry. It's been busy in my school life, I've had a few tests that I had to take, and then I have a few final projects to work on and it's just ugh. But I wanted to finish this because I love it so much, and I already have ideas for what's going to happen next!!!!!!!!   
> I'm so happy to have finished this, I'm really happy how it turned out, and I love the universe I have created, so don't worry there will be more!   
> So, if you wanna drop a comment or a kudos, I really appreciate it! I will definitely comment back, even if it takes a few days!   
> if you want to reach me somewhere else, my insta is @that_is_shocking, and my tumblr is @that-is-shocking   
> Be safe out there, okay guys?????? Please wash your hands, and wear a mask outside!!!!!   
> Lots and lots of love,   
> Alex <3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3
> 
> P.s. I hope the ending didn't feel too sudden, I tried my best, it just felt like a good place to stop and move onto the next thing!

**Author's Note:**

> Well hello. It's me, Alex. I have started yet another project, but this one is going to be done quicker than my other ones, I have a lot written out already. I'm a sucker for Hybrid AUs because they're so damn interesting, my favorite is currently Moon Diamond and the accompanying stories by Fox_115. They're brilliant please go read them it's so worth it.  
> Anyways, I want to say welcome if you're new, and welcome back if you're not.  
> Leave me a comment if you liked what you read, or if you just wanna chat. I'm a good chat-er. If you wanna chill on insta I also have an insta it's @that_is_shocking I will definitely say hi back if you say hi to me there.  
> Love you all, hope everyone is staying warm and having a good time near the holidays!  
> -Alex


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